Chamber of the Dragon's Soul

"We don't belong here," Tom said. "Can't you sense that, John? We live alone, no friends, no relatives... doesn't this all feel wrong to you? We're out of place in this world... we belong to another world."Yep. The boy done lost his ever lovin' mind,” thought John. I think I understand why you feel the way you do," John said as the two stared down into the valley, "But things aren't as bad as you imagine."Though Tom was touched by his brother's attempt at empathy, his attention was detoured by a glimmer of light in his peripheral vision. Turning from John, he fixed his eyes on a redwood in the valley below. Its trunk emanated an orange-red color and was growing brighter by the second. To his left, John droned on about making the best of the here and now, but Tom heard it as if it were being said through water - his attention was captivated by the phenomenon below. "That’s it." He whispered. "That’s the gate!"Overtaken by his revelation, he bolted down the slope like a man possessed, rapidly closing the gap between him and his discovery. Finding himself imparting sanity and sage to none but the surrounding trees, bugs, birds, and breeze, John shouted, "hey! Where the hell are you off to so damn fast?"Running like a maniac escaped from an asylum, Tom was pointing and yelling, "The gate!""The what?" Yelled John. "The tree!" Tom shot back, pointing emphatically. John had one of those brief flashes of thought that occur in the midst of an emergency, like when you're in the midst of a plane crash and think, this plane has nice carpet. Knowing the danger Tom put himself in by running headlong down a sixty degree decline, he found himself thinking, damn! I ain’t ever seen anyone who could run down such a steep slope like that! Before John ventured a look in the direction of Tom's pointing, he was seized with dismay, for Tom tripped on an exposed tree root and took on the likeness of a propeller come loose from its airplane. Down the slope he cart wheeled, mowing down every sapling, blade of grass, and ant hill in his path. Notwithstanding, glancing off the trunk of more than one redwood, breaking numerous low hanging branches, and instilling fear into the wee hearts of every tiny forest creature within earshot. When finally he rolled to a dazed standstill on the valley floor, John did not exhale until Tom sat up, appearing relatively unharmed. "It's a wonder you didn't break your damn neck!" He yelled down."I'm fine", Tom assured."Sure", John said to himself, "he's fine. I'd bet my left testicle that more than one psychologist would beg to differ."Before John could tell him to wait right there till he climbed down, Tom sprang to his feet, shook off his double-vision, and sprinted - a little off balance - toward the tree. The giant redwood not only glowed brightly now, but a blinding brilliance emanated from the trunk. Just four steps from the trunk, Tom halted in his tracks. Out of the shadows to the left of the tree, materialized the biggest man he had ever seen. He was ten feet tall if he was an inch. Eight hundred pounds of hard, bulging muscle, covered in dark skin the color of raw sienna, made up his body. His face was large and square, almost piggish countenance. Under it were thin lips attached to a hard-set jaw. He wore a perpetual scowl. Straight black hair flowed down his back, nearly to his waist, and he was clad in nothing but a loincloth. A wide black sword belt, which fastened at its front via a large silver buckle, surrounded his waist. From its left side hung a colossal broad sword in a black leather scabbard. In his hands he wielded a massive dual headed axe, with a silver head, and black haft. Black bracers, with silver studs, covered his forearms. Lumbering toward Tom, he swung the axe at Tom's head with the strength of a team of oxen. His intent was to separate his head from his shoulders, but Tom ducked at the last possible second, and the blade swooshed by in a silver blur. It sank two feet deep into a nearby tree. Tom distinctly felt the blade clip a few of his hairs as it narrowly missed him. Enraged by the miss of his target, the giant roared in anger as he worked the axe free. Taking advantage of the giant's preoccupation with the axe, Tom quickly rolled away from him, sprang to his feet, and taking three running-steps, leapt into the gate. After a considerable amount of effort, the giant freed the axe, and immediately followed Tom into the tree. The whole thing happened so quickly that by the time John's brain accepted the reality of what was happening, it was nearly over. He only noticed the glowing redwood for the first time when Tom began to run toward it. Before this mind-boggling information scarcely registered, the giant stepped out of the shadows and tried to take Tom’s head off; transforming John's reaction from amazement to fear. Meanwhile, he had already run three quarters of the way down the slope without realizing it. But his efforts to rescue Tom were of no avail. As he took his last steps to reach the valley floor, he heard a loud crackling sound like two loose wires initiating contact. He looked toward the tree just in time to see the emanating light flash brightly, and then vanish altogether."Tom!" He shouted, but there was no answer. Confused and numb, he stood staring at the tree in disbelief. An inexplicable loneliness seized him, and his eyes began to tear up."Tom?" He said in an almost inaudible voice. "Tom..."