His Nemesis

He [the Dark Master] had had his eye upon Francis for some time now … as he had known him to be the hope of the world. Years earlier he had morphed into a rabid dog and with the taste of the boy’s flesh within him, he now had a physical connection to the man, having assimilated some of his blood into himself, it now bore their union.

Hode knew of his nephew’s evil stalker, yet refused to use his name, lest he invoke the evil one - calling his attention or giving power to his menace - and so, in the stead, he only referred to him as ‘the Dark Knight’.

-Gabriel Brunsdon, AZLANDER: NEVER ENDINGS: Second Chances

The Dark Master

Every hero has his nemesis, and for Hode there was an Elvish Master that was so evil that even the history books could not bear to make mention his name.

His shadow stank with a putrid smell - for it was not of the sun, but made of the astral light - and it carried the particles of death all about him.

He wore his hatred of the Humankind dark, just like the stars embedded upon his cloak. His long hair streamed sleekly down upon his back in black waves, with a fine beard cropped short - his appearance was compelling.

-Gabriel Brunsdon, AZLANDER: NEVER ENDINGS: Second Chances

Teleportation

“If you can manifest the tea” she said looking at the steaming teapot, with the mugs and milk and cookies too - “how come you don’t just manifest those fire ants also?”

“Good question my girl!” he said with a broad grin. “Why do you suppose?”

She drew a blank.

“Well well,” he said, “inanimate and animate. Teleportation is so much harder with things on the move - especially those with a mind of their own. The ants are going places with their own ideas - but the teapot I can find exactly where I last left it … which was the common room of the treehouse yonder.”

“Makes perfect sense” she said, helping herself to an oat crispy.


-Gabriel Brunsdon, AZLANDER: NEVER ENDINGS: Second Chances

Fire Ant Tea

Goober was out upturning rocks. Charley asked him what he was looking for.

“Oh, fire ants. They make a great tea - very zesty.”

Having grown up with Uncle Goober, Charley was well familiar with his eccentric taste. She had discovered years earlier never to ask what was in his satay stir-fries.

He got up from the ground, unfurling his lanky body with a snap - wiped his hands on his apron and produced a tea-tray in front of them.

She looked at him with a hint of sadness - he had been a bachelor for as long as she could remember, and she felt a loneliness around this kindly soul.

- Gabriel Brunsdon, AZLANDER: NEVER ENDINGS: Second Chances

A Sign

Calvin had not confided his thoughts of religiosity to Robyn since the grand healing on that terrible day of Francis falling.

The ‘miracle’ he had witnessed, and even felt a little involved in, had opened his eyes to a completely different plane of being. In that moment, the veils were pulled back, and there he saw himself bathed in the light of Christ.

Faith now preceded everything. His inner wanting was now calmed - for his faith persuaded his fractured nerves back into harmony. He felt whole.

Robyn was looking at the empty box in his good hand as they alighted from the metal cage.

Perhaps this was a sign, Calvin thought to himself.


-Gabriel Brunsdon, AZLANDER: NEVER ENDINGS: Second Chances

On the Ferris Wheel

Calvin and Robyn were balanced high on a ferris wheel - Robyn clutched Calvin’s hand hard, and he returned in kind.

Over the months past Francis’s death, the two had dated constantly, and it had been decided that Calvin would soon return with Robyn to Australia to see the country she loved most in the world.

He pulled his hand back suddenly and reached for his pocket … he had planned this moment, when at the very top, he would bring out a package and present it to his love.

The great wheel jerked forward and down, and his weakened hand lost his grasp of the small velvet box - it happened so quickly, he did not even see the Tiffany diamond ring fall into the night.

-Gabriel Brunsdon, AZLANDER: NEVER ENDINGS: Second Chances

Signs in Nature

Tiny droplets began to fall.

The Elves loved the rain, and the mists and the clouds, and the dew. To the Elvish the cloud water was always shot with rainbow colours - each little sphere or orb of moisture had a rainbow exterior - a film of hues that were fluid, just like the soap bubbles with their play of light.

This is how the Elvish saw the heavenly water - that the stagnant fluid from the dark wells and bottles had their colors evaporated from them, whilst the vapors of the sky were enriched with their vivid hues.

“Methinks the sky would cheer us” quipped Francis who observed signs in all nature ordinarily.

“Agreed. And therein is perhaps our answer:

"That love, as with its beauty, is to be interpreted with esteem, and not rationale - wonder, not intellect - thanksgiving, not demands.”

“'Tis so.”


- Gabriel Brunsdon, AZLANDER: NEVER ENDINGS: Second Chances