After my evening meal, I walked outside of my home to give thanks. Looking to the night sky, I beheld a large gold dragon landing in front of my house, the wind from its wings blowing back my hair. Startled, I looked around to the quiet night with its chirping insects and then back at the dragon.
Addressing the creature, I said, “You are large. You are scaly. You are golden.” Narrowing my eyes, I studied it, looking for sulphur yellow eyes. I asked, “Who are you?” I added, “And don’t you dare crush those crops.” I looked stern and shook my finger at it, gesturing to the crops nearby that were nearly ripened.
The golden dragon chuckled, "I assure you any plant life that I touch will only grow more plentiful."
“Oh? How have you managed that?” I asked, wondering if this was one of Tiamat’s newer children that was maybe a little too cocky for its age.
The dragon swung its tail around. I ducked as it went over my head, unavoidably seeing its gender. “Hey, there fella, watch it!” The golden dragon touched his tail to a crop and made the crop grow larger and a beautiful white flower bloomed nearby. The dragon answered, “Because I was born of a Goddess and an Elf, the most magical of all bonds. I am Torrix, born of Goddess Ollopa and Elf Torkel.”
“You might grow pretty flowers with that tail of yours but that does not mean you get to wack me with it! You are dangerous with that tail! You need to be more careful.” I paused and trembled, realizing that I may have spoken a little too harshly to a being that could squash me like a bug and shook my head at my own superiority. “I suspected you might be Torrix but after the Evil Garrick pretended to be a contrite Ryuu, it has made me a little more suspicious.”
Sitting down and crossing my legs yoga style, I addressed the dragon deity with my deepest concerns. “So Torrix the Powerful, what are you going to do about Evil Garrick? He has been doing some pretty bad stuff by messing with reality and dragging hoards of people through the dimensional walls to our Korth here. He is building armies and plans to lay waste to all the land. That nasty puppet of his named Yorn Dios likes to mess with women. Yommy Dios is not the type to bring home to mother, you know.”
Mighty Torrix spoke, his deep voice booming with power. “You ask the complicated questions of me. Very well, Garrick is an interesting one for he has wrongfully attained power that can ‘undo’ anything I can do to stop him.”
“Well we better do something,” I insisted. “Or he will destroy this world and all of us.” Tears filled my eyes at the thought of our beautiful land being ravaged and the people, Elves, Humans and others enslaved and tortured. After seeing Yorn Dios in action, I knew killing and murder would be an example of his mercy if only to end the pain he would surely cause.
“Believe me, child, your troubles with him are very minute compared to the troubles I am dealing with when it comes to Garrick.” The deity’s deep gravelly voice rumbled, making everything nearby resonate with it, including my whole body. I winced, hearing things in my house falling and breaking. I shook with the power that Torrix emoted, but instead of instinctively fleeing, I doggedly held my ground, knowing that all of Korth depended on me. I gripped the green verge in my fists and clenched my jaw.
“So what is it that we can do against Garrick’s scheming? Can't Ollopa do something as well? Perhaps the two of you could work together to succeed.” I tried to remain strong in my faith; this was our deity who was also our King. But doubt was stealthily creeping into my mind, insidious and frightening.
Torrix answered me, “If he destroys this world, I can undo his destruction, but he'll just redo the destruction. So my goal is to find a way to stop that cycle from ever happening.”
My heart ached, seeming to fall into the ground. I protested, “Surely if we find a way to work in concert we can do something effective.” Feeling deep disappointment, I said bitterly, “Not even my ball bat works against Garrick.” I sighed.
Torrix explained, “The two items Garrick has are the Rune of Darkness and the Elghinn Scepter. Both items are also what allow Yorn Dios to live without boundaries by divine intervention.”
“How do we get those things away from the Evil Garrick? Can we destroy them?” I asked, hope springing up inside me like a fountain in a dry desert.
Torrix shook his massive head. “The sickest thing of all is that Garrick hid these two items in his chamber thousands of years into the future where the world is in total annihilation. No one can even see these items until the world is shattered.”
“I have not the power to get them to destroy them, but you or Ollopa might.” I cocked my head to one side and considered Torrix and waited.
“The Rune of Darkness and the Elghinn Scepter were created by the Drow to prevent divine intervention so a god cannot touch the item or its wielder,” the bass voice answered.
“It sounds like they did that on purpose then. Hmmm. Odd how it is that the Drow have so much power themselves.” I rubbed my head which was starting to ache from close proximity to such a powerful Divinity. My eyes felt gritty.
“The Drow are a powerful race. They were created by Ollopa's twin sister simply to crush the already powerful Elves,” Torrix told me. “Ollopa first created the Elves to dwell in harmony with the twin sun goddesses. Simetra's jealousy caused her to create the Drow to dominate the Elves.”
“I see,” I said, listening with fascination. “I guess I was not aware that Ollopa had a twin. She does not sound very warm and fuzzy. So far Simetra's plan of world domination is not working all that well. We refuse rule by the Drow. They do not place much value on life or living in harmony.”
“Ollopa then created the Dwarves to live as peaceful folk like the Elves, but who were tough enough to resist the Drow,” Torrix continued on.
I nodded. “Yes, Garrick has said that he has another army of Dwarven folk to bring in, if we somehow survive the Drow army.”
“Simetra later came to her senses and saw that the divide had caused problems, so she sacrificed herself and allowed her divine power to fuse with Ollopa; hence why you only see one colossal sun nowadays.”
“I see. I was not around during the Time of the Two Suns. I have only heard vague references to it,” I said. “So what is your plan Torrix? Do you have a plan and how do we work together to stop Garrick?” I listened intently.
“You already know my plan if you have been speaking with Mother Ollopa,” rumbled the dragon at me.
“She wants us to find the Dwarven folk. I think that Garrick has them organized as an army behind some sort of locked portal to their realm in the Copper Mines. I am uncertain how to free them from Evil Garrick’s influence,” I reported sadly. “None of the other species that Garrick has brought here believe me when I tell them that Garrick is evil and using them for his own destructive purposes. We have been giving them food and supplies in an effort to help convince them of Evil Garrick’s manipulations. There is a lot of room here for many of them. If they choose to live in peace, we could trade with them.”
“Find the dwarves. They are the biological allies of the elves. When they are found, the humans must also be in alliance with the dwarves.” I nodded my head obediently at the deity’s command.
“I hope that Seran will see reason. He has been contrary and oppositional so far.” I rubbed my sensitive eyes wearily. “I will keep searching for the Dwarven folk. Lady Ollopa indicated that they were behind the door in the mines, but I cannot open it nor pass through it.”
“Korth was made for the Four Races,” Torrix informed me. “Bringing the Dwarf race back and ensuring peace with their dominators, the Humans, should help bring balance.”
“Four races? Humans, Elven kind, Dwarven folks and the Drow?” I raised my eyebrows and looked surprised. “The Drow are the fourth race that we are to live in peace with?” I felt horrified at the thought, never having met any Drow personally until recently. From what I knew of them, their bloodthirsty practices did not sit well with me. I looked to my King for confirmation. “Have I got this right Mighty Torrix? Or am I incorrect?”
“The Dwarves will be able to keep the Drow in their place, so you need not worry,” Torrix said. “It also means that I need to create another world for the new visitors that do not belong.”
“I see,” I said, bowing my aching head obediently. I rubbed my forehead again. My headache had blossomed into an outright thudding that was making it difficult for me to think straight.
“So how can I get the door open or get myself thru the door to talk to the Dwarven folk?” I asked.
“Only The Traveler for Korth can pass through that Door,” Torrix told me.
“Who or what is the Traveler for Korth?” I asked, feeling as if I was becoming trapped in a surrealistic nightmare. My head felt as though the Drow were mining my skull from the inside.
“That Traveler just also happens to be possibly the sickest, most selfish man in Korth, the one called Father.”
The Drow army pounding inside my skull became an erupting volcano. “Oh no, not that father guy! He is creepy and he is not very trustworthy.”
“Exactly,” insisted Torrix. “So that Door is not a Door that we must step through to defeat this.”
I sighed in pain and at the seemingly insurmountable obstacles Torrix was placing before me. “Well......poop! We have to depend on a guy who needs to kiss my ball bat at a high rate of velocity. This does not bode well, Torrix. He could betray us all. Nutjob Garrick would win and succeed in destroying everything anyway.” I looked up at Torrix in great trepidation.
“And one more thing,” continued Mighty Torrix. His deep voice rang out emphatically, and I began to see spots before my eyes. “Even though Stayjit has lost his way as my Holy Prince, he should still remain as Torrite Lord of the Interior to continue to build Tir’an, just not as Cala, because as unfortunate as may be, Stayjit does not respect or represent the Divine and the Cala is ultimately the mortal representative of the Divine.”
“I am saddened by that news Torrix. I have always thought Stayjit was faithful to your Divine Will.” I spoke with great sorrow. “I will continue to serve whoever is Cala, Mighty Torrix. Will you choose Neo Rousseau? He is certainly strong enough. And he has wisdom. He could work against Evil Garrick and his machinations very well.”
“As I said, the election of the Cala is not my decision. It is decided by the Torrite Lords, Torrite Ladies, and Torrite Elders,” said Torrix. “You are the Torrite Lady for the Harvest, as Neo is for the Defense, as Stayjit is for the Interior. So it is your collective decision on the next Cala. My only stipulation is that Stayjit is not allowed, under any circumstances, to be reelected as Cala.”
“I am but a humble cook and fisherwoman. I farm and harvest for the good of Korth and the Elven nation. I have no head for politics, Mighty Torrix. I am much better at giving spankings if necessary, not diplomacy. I will continue to serve whoever is Cala as long as it is someone who is true to your Will. I am dismayed by Stayjit's failure.”
I blinked my eyes once, and the image of Torrix was gone. All that seemed to be left were a few tea leaves on the ground where he stood. My eyes swam with tears of loss and residual pain from the receding headache. I wondered if those tea leaves could be used to see more visions of the gods or the future. Gathering them up, I put the tea leaves left on the ground by Torrix and tenderly stored them in a canister in my island home.
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