Roland's Castle

  Chapter 17

  The journey to the sun was long and punctuated only by Brother Goodwill’s attempts to cheer up Lumenfarge. It was a difficult task as the sentinel had indeed spent many years alone in the darkness and knew little of company and cheer. All the while the disk of the great star grew larger until it was all they could see. As they got close in they could make out great dark clouds on its surface. So it seemed that even on the sun the war against darkness was continuously fought.

  They passed through the upper layers of flame to find yet more flames beneath. They passed downwards beside massive columns of fire roaring upwards and outwards towards the darkness above. At times they heard screeching and groaning sounds. Sometimes a faint scream.

  All the while the sentinel’s doleful voice and Brother Goodwill’s chirpy tones could be heard as they exchanged views on the value of life.

  “I think,” said Goodwill, “that the test of whether you have a positive view of life is this; even if you have lived a life full of pain with just one moment of pleasure,

  if you can wish for your life to recur eternally for just for that one moment of pleasure, then you have truly affirmed life!”

  “Sounds dreadful,” said the sentinel.

  “Oh, not really,” said Goodwill.

  “Have you ever known real pain?” Lumenfarge asked.

  “I have been in battle and wounded.”

  “That is pain from without. I mean pain from within.”

  “It seems to me that your pain from within is caused by a lack of interest in things outside you — things, people, to occupy your mind.”

  “I have no one. I don’t have any friends, and my family don’t want to know me because I carry the darkness within me, which is why I can carry you and have this conversation with you.”

  Botherworth lent over to Oliver and said confidentially, “Bit of a misery, isn’t he?”

  “But a useful misery,” Oliver said, “Kind of like someone else we know!”

  “Oi! You watch it!” Botherworth said, but there was a flicker of a smile on his face.

  “After this is all over, we do need to do something about trying to cheer Lumenfarge up,” Savitri said, “He is putting himself out for us.”

  “We can offer him our companionship – and we will invite him to the victory party,” Roland said.

  “Do you think he will come?”

  Roland shrugged, “He is willing to help us, why not?”

  Despite the sentinel’s ability to shield them the friends could now feel the heat of the sun’s centre. With intense white heat now all around them Lumenfarge said, “This is far as I am allowed to go.”

  “We must now go on foot,” Roland told his companions.

  “On foot! Have you completely lost it!” Oliver objected, “What’s out there makes the inside of a baker’s oven look like an ice house! Is there even anything for us to walk on?!”

  “There is a path,” said Lumenfarge, “It is narrow at first but gets wider. Follow it with no diversions and it will take you to The Very Hearth.”

  “And we have these,” said Roland, producing the gentians from his pocket.

  “Flowers!???” Oliver exclaimed in disbelief. Then he saw the darkness that they cast around them. “They are very errm… dark, aren’t they.”

  “The Great Mistress of the Lighthouse assured me they would protect us, even in The Very Hearth – the centre of the sun.”

  As Roland held up the tiny flowers the darkness inside the sentinel grew even darker.

  “More darkness,” said Lumenfarge miserably, “I always bring trouble with me when I return home.”

  “Perhaps if your kin lightened up a bit — no pun intended,” Oliver said.

  Roland shook his head at Oliver, then told Lumenfarge, “I do not believe you are a bringer of trouble. You have helped us and that is all I see. Thank you. If there is anything we can do for you…”

  “Don’t mention it,” said Lumenfarge, “If you need me again…”

  “Yes, we will,” said Roland, “We will need you to get us back, so please stay.”

  “Very well,” said Lumenfarge. Your friend has tried to cheer me up. I appreciate that. Its nice to have company after all this time, even that of lesser forms.”

  “I am glad we have been able to do something for you.”

  Roland turned to Goodwill and Botherworth, “I don’t see much point in you two coming with us. Perhaps you would like to stay here and continue trying to cheer up our fiery friend?”

  The fortresser and the caretaker both nodded their agreement.

  “Now, are we ready?” Roland asked.

  Oliver and Savitri replied that they were.

  “Very well, then. It is time we stepped into the sun!”

  Lumenfarge opened the doorway in his side. Roland walked towards it and peered into the white tumult of flame outside, then took a deep breath and held

  his gentian out over the threshold. The eerie dark shadow it cast showed that there was indeed a path — of sorts. It was made of solid flame. There were also walls and a ceiling of solid flame. It was in fact a corridor. Roland took another deep breath and stepped out into it.

  Almost immediately there was a reaction to his presence. There was a scream that sounded almost evil — or like a warning of evil — and the walls, floor and ceiling around him brightened, reddened and flexed, as if with rage. Flames all about leapt and writhed in anger.

  Oliver and Savitri stepped out behind him, joining him at his side.

  Roland held his gentian higher and put a foot forwards, then another. The others also held up their tiny flowers as high as they could, sending darkness spilling out around them. The flames immediately retreated to the fringes of the shadows like frightened, wounded creatures.

  “Are you quite sure this is safe?” asked Oliver.

  “No,” said Roland.

  “Okay, just asking.”

  They all started to walk quickly and as they did so the flames continued to back away from the dark pools cast by the gentians. Beyond the shadows the flames continued to redden and grow in intensity. There were sounds like the growling and snarling of angry animals that grew louder as they walked. There were also even more sinister sounds, such as distant screams. They began to think they saw faces in the flames and in the walls – the floor, the ceiling….

  “Did you see that?” Oliver asked, pointing at one.

  “And that!” Savitri added, pointing at another.

  “Let’s just keep on moving,” Roland said.

  “What did Lumenfarge mean by calling us lesser forms?” Oliver asked, trying to keep himself distracted.

  “It seems that the Great Flames created us just to help them in their war.” Roland said.

  “Is that true?”

  “So it seems.”

  “They owe us then, don’t they?”

  “Perhaps they think we owe them! Anyway, we have no time to waste thinking about it,”

  They reached a junction where several other corridors joined the one they were in. The route ahead became wider, like a road. Beyond the junction a large number of flames blocked the way. They hissed and shook and reddened with rage at the sight of the approaching adventurers. They were determined to stop them but Roland stuck his gentian forwards and they were pushed aside. As they fell back the walls, floor and ceiling shook as if with rage and a dull roar echoed all around.

  As they proceeded more and more flames blocked the way, their hisses and growls and roars of rage filling the ears of the adventurers. They all glowed red with rage and reached out fiery tentacles that felt along the edges of the gentian’s shadows.

  Soon hundreds – thousand -of flames were all around the adventurers, hostile and angry faces that shrieked and screamed hatred pressed right up against the edges of the shadows. Roland had never felt so frightened, and the others were also clearly very scared. There was nothing between them and the fury of the flames but mere shadows, and they did no
t feel like enough — not nearly enough. Roland wished for a strong shield, a suit of armour or better, a stone rampart. None of these could have protected them as well as the darkness of a gentian’s shadow, but they would have felt more substantial, more reassuring.

  “We must be near somewhere important now,” said Roland, “judging by the reception – and the look of the place.”

  There was, indeed, now an appearance of magnificence and grandeur around them, as if they were on a great thoroughfare in a great city. The towering walls of flame at its sides had the appearance of great buildings. Before them they saw a what looked like a great doorway with burning bright white pillars and an even brighter white light shining out between them from a vast chamber beyond.

  “That must be it,” said Oliver.

  At the doorway hordes of screaming of flames waited to greet them. As they were pushed aside by the shadows they clamoured at their edges, filled with murderous fury. The Adventurers passed through the great doorway to be confronted by another doorway, even larger, then another. Beyond that they found themselves faced by the greatest and whitest light of all, scorching and intense, the heat almost unbearable to them. Now the adventurers found that they needed to shield their eyes despite the protection of the flowers. They were sweating with the heat.

  In front of them was a circle of flames, the brightest and whitest that could be imagined. They were each at least a hundred feet tall, although it was difficult to judge in the surroundings. There were seven of them, Roland thought, though he could never be sure as he could not see properly with the tears streaming down his face.

  For a few moments there was silence. Roland wondered what to say. What do you say to the great grand flames at the very centre of the solar system? Good morning? Hello, how are you doing me old mucker? Nothing Roland could think of seemed right.

  He was spared the effort of speaking first by a booming voice that was as loud and stern as the heat and light were intense. All the great, grand flames were speaking at once. “Who are you?” they demanded to know.

  Roland took another deep breath, “I am Roland, from Earth, Lord – in my father’s absence — of the great tower that holds together the earth and the sky…”

  There was mumbling amongst them, then each took it in turns to speak a part of a sentence, all in the same booming whisper as Lumenfarge only much louder, “We have a memory —“

  “— from long ago —“

  — of this —

  —which is —

  —which was —

  — but a small part —

  — of our great war.”

  “Well, we need help,” Roland continued, “the Spirus have control of the castle, we had sun warriors that we sent into battle but they were old, and weary…”

  “You have ordered brethren of ours into battle?” Inquired one for the flames, fiercely.

  “Used them as mere pawns!” demanded another.

  “Sacrificed them before yourself!” roared another.

  “Yes,” Roland admitted, boldly, “I understood they were mine to command.”

  “Impudent!” roared another flame, and they chanted : “Impudent! Impudent!”

  “ — And you have failed, despite misusing our brothers!” one said.

  And together they chanted, accusingly, “Failed! Failed! Failed! Failed!”

  Again they shared a sentence between them,

  “You allowed the enemy —

  “— a victory —“

  “— to defeat you —

  “ —Despite sacrificing our brethren.”

  “It could not be helped,” Roland protested, weakly.

  The flames took it in turns to choose words they thought described it all best,

  “Disrespectful!”

  “Disgraceful!”

  “Disreputable!”

  “Dishonourable!”

  “Impudent!”

  “Impure!”

  “You are impurity!”

  “Impurity must be expunged!”

  “What do you mean impure?” Oliver demanded.

  “Yeah! Who are you calling…?” Savitri said.

  Roland raised his hand to suggest that they tone down their objections.

  The flames continued, “Have you —

  “ — no respect — “

  “ — for your betters?”

  It didn’t seem to be going well. Roland decided on another tack.

  The Great Mistress of the Lighthouse, on the moon —“

  “We know of he r—”

  “Well, she said you created us to help you in your struggle. We were helping you when we deployed your brethren. We are fighting the darkness too.”

  “In a small way.” One flame said.

  “In a small place,” another flame added.

  “Every little bit helps,” Oliver put in.

  Roland took a deep breath and tried to summon all his powers of speech and persuasion, as advised by the Lighthouse Mistress, “We have come a long way seeking your help, knowing of your strength and of the great battle that you fight. We wish to fight that battle with you, to take up arms with you, to join you… But first… — but first we must win our own battle. The unfinished tower is a resource of great strength – I am told – that cannot be — must not be surrendered to the enemy. If we lose the tower, we may lose the Earth, and the Earth is close to the sun, is it not? Therefore allowing it to fall into enemy hands is a risk to you.”

  “A small risk.”

  “Very small.”

  “ Alright, a small risk. But the tower may be just what you need one day. You never know. You never know what allies you might need.”

  “Maybe,” the flames said.

  “Why would we need you?” one asked.

  “Why would we ever need you?” another pressed.

  “We are mighty!” said another.

  “You are small and weak,” yet another said, and with an insulting tone to boot.

  They began to chant, “Small! Weak! Small! Weak!”

  “We are mighty!” they all said.

  “Well, if you are that mighty, you can afford to help us a bit then can’t you,” Roland said, feeling he had them.

  “Good going!” Savitri said, “You got them!”

  “Yeah! Send some of that might our way if you have so much of it!” Oliver said.

  The flames seemed to reflect on this. They huddled together for a minute, their edges merging.

  “Fifty,” they said.

  “Fifty what?” Roland asked, “Fifty regiments?”

  “Fifty warriors,” was the reply.

  “What!” Oliver cried, “That isn’t enough!”

  “You cannot do this!” Roland cried, “You cannot betray us like this!”

  “Betray?” queried one of the flames, reddening with anger and shaking alarmingly.

  “Impudent!” Said another.

  “Outrageous!” said another.

  “Get out!” Said another one.

  “Get out!” repeated another.

  “Alright! Alright! We’ll take it!” said Roland, “Fifty will be enough – I hope they will be enough. They will have to be enough.”

  The flames seemed to calm down, but also started to flex and change shape as if they were doing some sort of weird exercise. They all spoke again, taking it in turns as before, “Now go! —“

  “The warriors will follow you — “

  “— Return to Lumenfarge —“

  “— He will carry them –

  “ — as well as you.“

  “Now go—

  “ — away from here — “

  “ Leave now—”

  “ — quickly!”

  “ Quickly!”

  “ Quickly!”

  “Go!”

  “Go!”

  “Go! Go! Go!” They all started to chant.

  “Leave us!”

  “Be gone!”

  Roland felt there was more to be lost than gained now s
o the adventurers quickly left the hall. As they headed down the passage they heard the sound of marching behind them. They looked back to see that indeed a column of sun warriors was following them.

  “They look like more than fifty when in columns like that,” Oliver said, trying to find some cause for hope.

  “They are not enough,” Roland cursed.

  “Not nearly enough,” Savitri said, with rage in her voice.

  They held up their gentians to repel the heat and light but the walk back to Lumenfarge was more peaceful than their journey inwards. Flames no longer screamed at them with rage or tried to block their path. The intruders were leaving, and that at least was appreciated.

  “At least we don’t have to fight our way out,” Oliver said.

  “They are glad we are going,” Roland said, “It’s good riddance to us.”

  “Disgraceful, “ said Savitri, quietly.

  “Careful, they might hear you!” Oliver said.

  Even Goodwill seemed subdued.

  “I am sorry,” said Lumenfarge, upon hearing of the disappointment.

  “We will manage,” Roland said, with determination.

  “But how?” Oliver asked.

  “There are ways,” Savitri said, waving her sword about like a determined person.

  “Yes, there are ways,” Roland repeated, as if he were trying to convince himself.

  He asked Lumenfarge, “Can you take us back to the moon as quickly as possible? We have a long journey ahead of us and we really must get back to the earth as soon as we can, however much good we can or can’t do when we get there.”

  “I could take you all the way if you like,” Lumenfarge said.

  “What!!!???” Roland said, “All the way to Earth, to the tower?”

  “Of course,” said Lumenfarge, I can go anywhere, except for The Very Hearth. Would you like me to take you all the way?”

  “Yes! I would like that very much! Very much indeed! Yes please! This at least is good news – thank you Lumenfarge. Can you find the Hall of the Knights Fortressers?

  “Indeed I can,” said Lumenfarge.

  “You will have to fight off an attack by the storm lords,” Roland warned.

  “Huh!” Lumenfarge scoffed, “They will scurry away and hide at the sight of me!”

  With that they quickly left the sun far behind them.

  The journey back to earth was long and the adventurers slept most of the way. As they approached the Earth Lumenfarge woke them and for the first time they looked down upon their home planet.

  “Its beautiful!” Oliver said, “I didn’t know it would be so….blue!”

  “It is beautiful,” Roland agreed.

  “What a pity creatures like the Spirus have to spoil it,” said Savitri.

  “Where are the plains of the sky,” Oliver asked, “How come we can see through them?”

  “They are not visible from here,” Said Lumenfarge,” they are on a different … plain!”

  Lumenfarge was right about the storm lords. They had no trouble from them and didn’t even see a single one. As they got lower they could see the landscape of the castle, and then they saw a wonder; Lumenfarge’s approach made the great, finished tower sparkle and gleam in all its glory, as if it were welcoming long lost kin. They saw it’s whole marvellous, intricate design, fully illuminated, as they dropped down through it and entered the Hall of the Knights Fortressers.

  “We are here,” Lumenfarge said, and the doorway in his side appeared again. Goodwill led the way out with Oliver and Savitri following and Botherworth bringing up the rear. But Roland remained behind and after the others were gone spoke to Lumenfarge, "Lumenfarge, there is more I wish you to do, if you are willing…”

  “I will help you gladly if I can,” said the flame, “You have been good company to me, and have tried to help me…”

  “Good. I am most grateful to you too. You have helped us immensely and the behaviour of your masters is no fault of yours – no fault of yours at all. I do not want the others to know about this as I don’t want their hopes dashed again if it should fail. They are demoralised enough already. Listen now, this is what I want you to do….”