Rudy Platiel - In The Land Of Ebyam: The Dangers of the Shadow World are Real

In The Land Of Ebyam
Copyright 2019 by Rudy Platiel

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law .

Tellwell Talent
www.tellwell.ca

ISBN
978-0-2288-0301-0 (Paperback)
978-0-2288-0302-7 (eBook)

Table of Contents

While inspiration is often drawn from real people, this story is a work of fiction. Much of the science mentioned in Chapter 9 was based on actual research of the time of the storys writing.

Dedication

T his story is dedicated to our grandchildren, Conor, Lia, Benjamin, and Violet. It was Conors intrepid character and passion for dirt bikes that inspired this story.

A special mention for our daughters, Christina, Louise, and Vicki, and to Valerie, who touched our lives, however briefly. It is Christinas perseverance and dedication that has ensured the publication of this book.

And, finally, to my wife, Agatha, who was always greeted last when I arrived home late each day from work, disrupting bedtime for the children, but is still first in my heart.

Voices from the Void I

In the cold void of a dark chamber suspended between two worlds, the silence is broken by a voice.

You are still preoccupied with the deaths of the two boys?

For a moment the last syllables of the words hang suspended like an echo.

It shouldnt have happened. I blame myself, a second voice answered. This voice was differenthollow and strangely distorted, as if coming from another world.

Dont blame yourself, said the first voice. You cannot change it now.

I know, but I cannot leave it this way, the second replied.

A moment passed.

You have a plan? asked the first voice.

Yes, I have a plan. I need a candidate, and I will need your help when the time comes.

Of course, replied the first voice. But you know the evil onesespecially your brothercan never been completely defeated. They will return.

They will return, but first I will have my revenge.

Chapter 1

A Dark Shadow

In the Land of Maybe, near the edge of an abyss

Lived a brave young boy in a time of risk.

All things mechanical he loved and adored

Especially their loud and thunderous roar.

But across the land a dark shadow crept,

A company of ogres came as everyone slept.

They hid in the forests and lay quietly in wait

Watching for people to walk out of their gate.

C onor stared out the window of his grandmothers home and scanned the forest across the field where the luminous green leaves of the trees were dancing like excited sprites in the orange early morning sun.

However, there was something curiously different today about this familiar sight from the kitchen window. On the horizon beyond the forest, a backdrop of dark clouds hung like a curtain across the skyline.

For a moment this combination of brilliant, trembling sunlit leaves against a charcoal background made it seem as if the painting of a sunny day was slowly melting into a river of darkness.

Despite this odd sight from the kitchen, there was no sense that this would be anything other than just another ordinary day in the country.

Turning from the window, he strolled toward the door.

Conor, called his grandmother. What are you up to today?

She was standing at a counter in the kitchen that was filled with the familiar smell of her cooking.

Conor walked around the large oak dining table where so many family gatherings had been held over the years and ran his fingers over its glossy, worn finish.

Im meeting Dale. Were going for a ride on the trails, he said as he picked up his helmet and leather motorbike gloves.

Be careful, his grandmother replied. She had been telling him that as long as he could remember. It was just one of those things that grandmothers always say. He would have been surprised if she hadnt.

Dont worry Gram. Ill be all right, he replied wearily.

Looks like bad weather may be on the way, she said.

No problem. Ill be home before lunch, he said as he headed out the front door.

Although he missed his mother and father, Conor loved being here in the country with his grandparents. This place had been one of the touchstones of his lifethe centre of his earliest memories of family gatherings. Surrounded by forests and fields, it was also an ideal setting for a fourteen-year-old boy obsessed with dirt bike riding.

There was a tremendous sense of freedom here in the country, in dramatic contrast to what life had become in the city where he lived. At one time the city had seemed a safe and happy place. But lately it increasingly had become a place of fear, resentment, and social discord.

Long ago a new race had appeared in the landthe Draegilians. Half animal and half human, some had only a hint of animal facial features, making them almost indistinguishable from humans. But others had stark animal features.

Intelligent and social, at first Draegilians were generally treated no differently from anyone elseaccepted among the human population with no more than curiosity. Tolerance was the watch word of the day, and life in the city went on unchanged.

But as the Draegilian population grew over time, young males became aggressive, particularly those with a strong animal appearance. Regarding themselves as superior to humans because of their strength and size, swaggering young male Draegilians began congregating in gangs to flout social conventions and intimidate the populace.

Authorities became mired in indecision. Those who called for a crackdown were accused by more moderate Draegilians of prejudice. Worried about provoking a backlash in the community, authorities did little, which only seemed to fuel the arrogance of the bullies. Slowly everyone became uneasy and fearful, even moderate Draegilians who became afraid to speak out for fear of being targeted by their own kind.

No one was sure how the Draegilians had come to be in the first place or from where they had come. Some thought they had evolved out of secret cloning experiments between humans and animals. Others blamed another group within societythe Shamyans.

Shamyans were humans but with one significant difference: they possessed supernatural powers. Although they lived among the general population, they remained a mysterious, aloof group that avoided contact with the rest of society and rarely socialized outside their tight-knit circle. They remained essentially a closed society within society.

Shamyans jealously guarded the secrets of their wizard-like powers, and so the perception of their powers grew among the general population.

For a long time, their reclusive behaviour did not matter. But as the problem with the Draegilians grew, so in some quarters did resentment against the Shamyans.

The Shamyan leaders denied that their people had anything to do with the arrival of the Draegilians. But amid the growing fear and discord gripping the populace, many people blamed them anyway. A few opportunistic politicians attempted to whip up anger at both the Draegilians and the Shamyans by demanding that authorities crack down and force both to live apart in separate areas from the general population. But nothing came of it.