Wayne Batson - The Final Storm

His left foot slid off the side of one of the planks. His right knee buckled, and he fell. All Robby’s worst fears came rushing back. Frantically, he grabbed the left guide rope with both hands. But his hands slipped off.

As his body fell below the bridge, Robby grabbed the planks with both hands. He felt the tendons in his hands protest, and his fingernails felt ready to rip right off the ends of his fingers. But still he hung on.

And with the wind howling, Robby dangled from the bridge, trying desperately to hoist himself up. He managed to get a hand between two planks where he could get a stronger hold. Then, using the strength of his upper back, arms, and shoulders, he pulled one knee up to the edge of the planks. But, try as he might, he could not get his knee or foot over the edge because the wind kept blowing.

His muscles ached. Robby knew he wouldn’t last much longer. So he pulled with all of his athletic might and yanked his body as high as he could. His right knee found purchase, but only for a moment. Robby struggled, trying to heave himself up, but felt himself slipping. “I can’t do this!” he yelled. And then one of his hands slipped off the plank. He let go and fell backward. “King Eliam, help me!” he screamed as his body lost all contact with the bridge.

Robby closed his eyes as he plummeted into the unknown.

A hand found Robby’s hand in midair. The grip was absolutely strong and would not let Robby fall any farther. And as if Robby were made of paper, the hand lifted him up and over the guide ropes and placed him securely in the middle of the bridge.

Robby opened his eyes, but there was no one there. “You are never alone,” a voice said. And behold, the mist ahead of Robby spread apart, and before him-like a solitary monument-stood a door. Robby raced up the remaining planks and seized hold of the door’s large ring. Robby exulted with gratitude, knowing that he had been rescued from his own feeble efforts-rescued and guided at last to The Door Within!

“Thank you! Thank you, my King!” Robby repeated over and over, as the door opened and brilliant light streamed out. It was the glad, golden light of the sun and stars-the very same light that had illuminated the Scrolls and chased away his fears in the dark woods. Robby smiled and entered The Door Within.

The golden light faded away to a tiny distant point, and a narrow path rolled out like a carpet into the darkness before Robby. Still smiling, he walked up the path, and as he did so, he realized that his senses were behaving strangely. His senses of sight and hearing were dulled, making him feel as if he were underwater. But his sense of touch was alive, and he felt like he could almost feel the texture of the air as it tingled all around him.

Robby held his arms up as he walked, letting the marvelous, peculiar air wash over him. Then the darkness on both sides of him began to flicker. Peculiar blurred images began to appear. Slowly they began to focus.

Dark storm clouds, swirling and brooding, raced overhead. Lightning flashed, shedding eerie flickering light on a sea of armed knights in black armor. This army stretched all the way to the horizon and was as wide as Robby could see. Robby quickened his pace, for he did not want to remain in the midst of such a terrible army. Lightning flashed again. The vision wavered and changed. The storm clouds melted into the deep green canopy of a forest. A great pit opened up in the forest floor, and suddenly the vision took Robby beneath the surface.

A knight appeared there, illuminated by strange gray subterranean light. And before him spread dozens-no, hundreds-of furry brown humps. The humps began to move. They were advancing toward the knight. The knight backed away. As the things grew near, Robby saw a sea of glassy black eyes. Robby turned away from the visions. He kept his eyes on the path as best he could and ran.

In spite of his attempts not to watch, Robby saw images out of the corners of his eyes. The vision flickered and changed again. This time he saw a battle before massive walls of stone. Knights in a great many types and colors of armor fought desperately. Their swords clashed. Arrows flew in swarms.

But suddenly there was something burrowing beneath the knights, and as it traveled it threw great numbers of knights violently into the air. Then, as it neared, Robby caught a glimpse of a large scaly claw reaching out of the crowd of soldiers. Then there were several claws. And each one grabbed a fistful of knights, crushed them, and tossed them aside like broken dolls. Robby felt an unrelenting fear that this creature, whatever it was, was coming after him. He forced himself to look straight ahead, but he could sense the visions begin to speed up-one replacing the next-until it was just a blur.

Robby ran as fast as he could. Just a few feet ahead a shimmering window appeared in the darkness. Robby ran for it and dove, disappearing through the window.

L ady Merewen stood by Kaliam’s side on the wide balcony above Guard’s Keep. Her silver hair glistened in the moonlight, and her almond-shaped eyes shone with hope.

“Do not fear, m’lord. You chose rightly in this matter. The Blue Mountains must be defended, out of loyalty-and of need. And if our dragon force is quickly victorious… it will give Paragor something to think about.”

“If?” Kaliam replied thoughtfully. “That is what troubles me. Too often as of late I am left here to stare and wait while my friends venture forth to war.”

“There will be war enough for us all before too long,” she replied, staring at the shadows of dark mountains in the west.

“Nay, m’lady,” said Kaliam, and he turned to her. “It is not war that I desire. But… I am averse to ordering good knights into danger, while I remain safe within the walls of the city.”

Lady Merewen took Kaliam’s strong hands into hers. “There is not a single knight in all the armies assembled here who would question your mettle… or your courage.” Kaliam’s determined expression melted, for Lady Merewen had guessed his secret fear. “Do not forget who chose you for this position,” she continued, capturing Kaliam’s gaze in her own and refusing to let go. “You have been called to be Sentinel of Alleble, and King Eliam does not make mistakes.”

Kaliam was silent for many long moments. Indecision played upon his brow as he searched her eyes. But then a subtle smile appeared on his lips, and he seemed to have come to an unspoken conclusion. Lady Merewen looked at him questioningly.

“M’lady, you are most extraordinary,” he said at last. “But come, it is time now to meet the new Twelfth Knight.”

Robby found himself sitting on a chair in the dark. But it was not his room. He turned to his side and stared at a large window that was shuttered except for a crack. Through this narrow portal, Robby saw the twinkle of stars and beneath those, indistinct gray shadows.

He stood and slowly, as if afraid of what he might see, he threw wide the shutters. And then he laughed. Laughed out loud. The kind of joyous laughter he had not experienced in a long, long time. For beyond the shutters lay a wide, sleeping kingdom. Castle turrets, powerful stone walls, keeps and many small cottages lay quiet beneath the stars. But surging with unmatched grandeur, towering higher than many rooftops, plumed the great fountains of Alleble. And something inside of Robby formed the words in his mind, and he whispered, “I’ve come home.”

A sudden knock at a door behind Robby made him jump. “M’lord Robby?” a boisterous female voice called. “M’lord, are you there? Well, of course you must be there. Kaliam said you would be. I suppose the better question is, may I come in? Hullo, Robby?” She knocked again.