Ascendants of Ancients Sovereign

CHAPTER 4

Mental Breakdown





Back Inside the Temple of the Gods

Southern Grayham





SHALEE SLEPT OFF THE effects from bonding with her new staff, and then Mosley led the Earthlings toward the exit of the temple. According to her watch, She had only slept for a couple of hours, but she awoke rejuvenated.

“This temple was built by the Collective as a reminder of the importance of the Crystal Moon, not only to this world, but the others as well,” Mosley said. “It doesn’t matter which deity a being serves, this is a place for all to worship and thank the gods for their bounteous gifts. The strongest leaders of many grand packs have walked these hallowed halls.”

Mosley stopped speaking and redirected his attention to the base of one of the pillars. After sniffing its circumference, he shook his head and snorted. “Unacceptable.”

This piqued Sam’s curiosity. “What’s wrong? You look irritated.”

Mosley continued to sniff, but during this series of moments he explored the base of two other pillars while Sam and Shalee watched. “It’s aggravating. The pillars within this temple are unmarked. I want to claim this territory, but to do so would be disrespectful.”

Shalee rolled her eyes. “Are you saying you want to pee on everything? Am I understanding you right?”

Mosley growled. “I’m saying this territory has been unclaimed. It calls to me to make it mine.”

“Goodness-gracious, Mosley, who’s going to know? If it’s that big a deal, just give one of them a squirt and get it over with. We aren’t going to tell anybody.” She nudged Sam with her elbow, “Isn’t that right?”

Sam looked at the wolf and shrugged. “If you feel the need to urinate on stuff, then have at it. It’s not my house.”

It was easy to see Mosley’s emotional struggle as he stood there for a long series of moments, quietly debating. He lifted his head, looked in all directions, then turned sideways against the pillar. Once he was sure no one was watching, he lifted his leg and released a quick stream. Then, like a child, the wolf darted down the great hall and waited for Sam and Shalee to catch up.

It was easy to hear Mosley’s excitement. “How exhilarating! I’ve never done anything so mischievous. My father would have been proud of me. To claim a territory as coveted as this would be the talk of the pack. I can’t wait to see my brothers. Their cubs’ cubs will forever howl the tale of my bravery and conquest.”

Shalee raised her free hand to her mouth and spoke just over the top of her fingers as she pressed them against her lower lip. “You’d make a good Texan, Mosley. You’ve got a little rebel in you.”

After enjoying the compliment, Mosley turned his attention back to more pertinent matters. “As I was about to say, this particular temple is for the beings of Grayham. There are similar temples on the other worlds, though they hold only replicas of the Crystal Moon. All temples are protected by the power of the gods in every direction for a half-Peak’s journey. This protection gives the inhabitants of each world a safe place to commune with their deity.”

As the night terror wolf finished speaking, two 50-foot long, sinister-looking serpents with large fangs and cobra hoods slithered past. Shalee grabbed Sam’s arm as they undulated past and whispered, “Mosley, psst, Mosley. Hey! Those are some big snakes. Are they really allowed to pray like other folks? Isn’t it some sorta health risk?”

She turned to watch as the serpents slid farther away, then a new thought popped out of her mouth. “Oh, my lord in Heaven, can you imagine how many purses a girl could make with all that skin?” With a wave, she snapped her fingers. “It’s all about the accessories, Mosley.”

The wolf chuckled. “I can only assume you’re referring to a type of bag. If so, you might want to wait until the serpent sheds.” The wolf lowered his nose to the floor and sniffed. “The serpents leave an awful smell.”

Sam cut in, “What other kinds of beasts come here?”

Mosley shook his head. “All kinds, of course. Have you not listened to anything I’ve said?”

Sam grunted. “Your answer fails to narrow the scope. Thanks for nothing, Mosley.”

The wolf ignored the sarcasm. “The gods agreed, placing you in this temple would be the safest starting point for your journey. The temple is located many Peaks northwest of the city of Brandor. Your paws will be sore before we arrive.” Mosley used his snout to point to a map resting on the west wall to show the humans how far Brandor was from their current location.

Shalee studied the gold frame that the map had been placed inside. “Sam, can you believe the beauty of this place? Sure, big snakes slithering everywhere is kind of creepy, but if you look past that, this place is incredible. There isn’t anything on Earth that comes close. I’ve never seen such detail. Everything is so ornate. I’d love to study the blueprints.”

Mosley interrupted. “The temple is an exception. Many dens on Southern Grayham are not as exquisite. Bassorine felt that many locations throughout the kingdoms should remind you of your old homeworld. The Collective wished for your transition to be as smooth as possible. If you ever see the other worlds, their look and feel will not be like Southern Grayham. Because of my service to Bassorine, my eyes have seen these differences.”

Sam and Shalee looked at each other and shrugged, unable to imagine the concept of another world being so accessible. Sam’s mind churned with questions, but the temple doors leading to the outside world opened. The doors were enormous and required a slow, steady pace to accomplish the task. Numerous hinges, almost as long as Sam’s Mustang convertible and about as wide, supported weight equal to 30 elephants. At 40 paces tall, the doors arched toward each other at the top.

Sam studied the doors and thought, They must be two meters thick. They can’t be gold. Gold would be too heavy. “Shalee, can you imagine the sound they would make if they slammed into the wall? This place had to cost an arm and a leg to build.”

Mosley tilted his head. “Sam, I can assure you the gods accepted no arms or legs as payment for the temple’s construction.”

“Don’t be silly, Mosley,” Shalee quipped. “He didn’t mean it literally.” She chuckled. “I look forward to seeing more of Grayham.”

“I’m sure you will enjoy yourself, Shalee,” Mosley replied. “I find Sam’s comment to be curious.” The wolf thought a moment and then shook off the awkwardness. “The temple is unlike any other den on this world. Grayham does, however, have many wondrous destinations.”

Once outside, the humans were at a loss for words. The view was breathtaking—a moment where the soul had to stop and absorb the magnificence. The temple was built on a large plateau. The structure sat quite a ways from the edge of a steep drop called Griffin Cliffs. It was more than 7,000 feet to the bottom, and all around the expansive steppe were natural springs that surfaced and pooled together before flowing over the edge. Many types of exotic flowers, as well as other species they had never seen, bloomed around the pools. The sight was glorious—beyond glorious—and Shalee could have stayed forever.

Sam studied his surroundings and figured there had to be at least a few hundred of these natural springs that fed peacefully into one another. The sound the water made as it rippled toward a large pooling area was soothing to his ears.

Moving closer to the edge of the cliffs, the group peered over. Sam could see and feel the energy of the falls. I wonder what the volume of water is that is released into the lands below. I can’t fathom how many gallons it would take to create a natural wonder of this magnitude.

The trio watched in silence as a cloud of mist billowed in all directions. The water from the falls hit the rocks below with such tremendous force that the mist covered an expansive area.

Mosley spoke. “Sam, the springs generate enough water to supply three kingdoms. The territories of Southern Grayham slope away from the temple.”

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Sam responded. Taking a deep breath, he thought, This place makes Niagara Falls insignificant.

They worked their way clear of the precipice and toward a large platform made of wood. Its perimeter was encircled by a railing that offered a pretense of safety, and as they walked up the steps, Sam turned to Mosley and spit out a list of questions. “Okay, okay. I can see this is clearly not Earth.” Sam pointed to the south and then to the north at a colorful planet on each horizon. The world to the south radiated many purple hues while the other radiated a spectrum of orange which spawned more questions. “Where are we?”

Mosley looked confused. “I’ve already told you. Your paws have found their footing on Grayham. More specifically, Southern Grayham, on top of Griffin Cliffs. You saw the map inside the temple.”





Temple of the Gods

Southern Grayham





“No, no, no! I mean … yes, I saw the map, but what I meant was, where in the galaxy are we? There are no large purple and orange worlds visible from Earth with the naked eye.”

Mosley tilted his head as a dog would when confused. “I’m not sure what you mean. All that is, or ever was, since the end of The Great Destruction of Everything Known is where you are. You’re on one of the five planets that revolve around the sun. This planet, as I told you before, is Grayham. The two worlds above are Luvelles and Harvestom. Dragonia and Trollcom cannot be seen for now, since they travel on the far side of the glowing sun. Nothing else exists, other than the hidden god world, Ancients Sovereign, but the beings on the worlds do not know of its existence or how to get there. Only those of us who live in service to a member of the Collective are privy to this sacred information. You would not know, but Bassorine instructed that I share it with you.”

Again, Mosley became sidetracked. He sniffed the edges of the wooden platform until he found the perfect spot. After marking it, he rejoiced and then rejoined the conversation. “What a wondrous day!”

Sam smiled. “Are you going to answer my questions ... or not?”

“I apologize. Most of what I know is limited to this world. Anything more, I cannot reveal in depth.” The wolf paused. “I’m not sure what a galaxy is, but it is, indeed, an amazing name.”

Sam and Shalee looked at each other before Sam responded. “Okay, okay. So … you don’t know where Earth is. That, I can accept. Obviously, if all the worlds are able to support life and you have only one sun, judging by the position of the other two worlds, the planets must be on different orbits. Your solar system is kind of a logistical nightmare, isn’t it? It must look like a giant atom. The sun acts as the nucleus while the planets move around as equal mass electrons. Granted, this is a crude analogy, but—”

Mosley interrupted Sam’s thoughtful rant. “What are you talking about? What’s an atom?”

Sam shook his head. “Oh, nothing. Forget it. I suppose I’ll just have to accept most of this for now, since you clearly have no idea what I’m talking about. At least answer this if you can.” Sam looked toward the sun. “How many hours are in one of your Peaks?”

Mosley gave Sam a blank stare. It was clear the wolf knew nothing of hours. He hesitated, “I don’t know what an hour is. I can tell you, we consider a Peak to be from when the sun reaches its highest point in the sky until the next moment it does it again. Does this help?”

“Heck, no, it doesn’t help. Of course a day is easy to figure out. Don’t you have clocks or watches?” he asked, pointing at Shalee’s wrist. “Don’t you understand the concept of time?”

Mosley looked at the watch and asked Sam to explain its function. Once the beast understood how the timepiece worked and the words Sam used to measure time, the wolf responded. “We have no words to represent your concept of time. We understand moments pass, but we don’t define the passage of our moments as you do. We don’t use words like minutes, seconds or hours. Our worlds are much simpler than yours.”

Shalee fumbled with the pink band of her watch. “Well, it may be good for nothing now, but at least it’s still pretty. Bummer.”

Looking up in the direction of the sun, Mosley continued. “Sam, we plan around specific positions of the sun. For example, you can see the sun has just risen, and it’s only a quarter of the way toward its highest point in the sky. We call this Early Bailem. When the sun is at its highest point, we call it the Peak of Bailem, and when it has passed the Peak and it is once again midway to the horizon, we refer to this as Late Bailem. These terms honor the God of the Sun, Bailem.”

The wolf lowered to his haunches. “Just before the sun disappears behind the horizon, we call this dusk, or evening. When we can no longer see, we call the darkness, night. In the middle of the night, there is an estimated series of moments we call midnight.”

Sam interrupted. “How do you possibly call ‘an estimated series of moments’ by one name? Shouldn’t midnight be a single moment?”

Mosley thought a while. “I suppose if our world understood your names for designated moments, it would be easy to call a single moment midnight. But since we don’t, let’s move on, shall we?”

Shalee and Sam shook their heads as Mosley continued. “When the sun is about to rise, we call this dawn, or morning. It was the Collective who named the moments of dusk, evening, dawn, morning, night, and midnight.”

Sam grabbed the hair on his head, looked at Shalee, back at Mosley and then spun around with his hands in the air. He laughed. “The people are so primitive. I wonder where these “so-called” gods got some of those names, Earth maybe? How in the heck do you live without clocks?” he asked, motioning to Mosley. “Hasn’t anyone ever thought to … ummm … I don’t know, maybe create a sundial or something?”

Mosley tilted his head. Once Sam realized the wolf had no idea what he was talking about, he turned and adjusted his attitude. He knew his tone would get him nowhere, and Shalee was giving him a look. “Okay, okay,” he sighed. “I’ll explain what a sundial is later. Shalee, let me have your watch. I’d like to get an accurate account of how long a Peak is here.” Sam turned to Mosley. “How many Peaks are there in a year?”

Again, Mosley looked puzzled and waited for Sam to explain. The fighter rolled his eyes. “Okay, okay. I’m 23 years old, and where I’m from, it takes 365 Peaks to make one year of my life.” He pointed to Mosley. “Do you understand?”

The wolf thought he understood. “I’m old. Many seasons have come and gone since my Peaks as a cub.”

“What do you mean by ‘seasons?’” Sam replied. “I’ve heard that expression more than once.”

Mosley grinned in his wolfish way. “The season we’re experiencing is called summer. We determine our age by the seasons. I was born in the winter and became one season old when the next winter arrived. The next winter I became two seasons old. This continued each winter until I arrived at the age I am now, which is none of your business. Sam, you said you were 23?”

“I did.”

“In what season were you born?”

“I was born in the spring,” Sam replied, knowing full well what the wolf was going to say next.

“We also have a spring, and a fall. The seasons go in the order of winter, spring, summer, and fall and then back to winter again. This would make you 23 spring seasons old.”

Sam laughed. “I understand, but that doesn’t tell me how long a year is on Grayham. It does tell me how you figure out your ages, so for that, I thank you. I’ll have to figure out the rest on my own. At least the names of the seasons are the same. Sounds like your gods were too lazy to think of their own labels for what they created. I swear, I feel like I’m in a nightmare. How can any of this be real? I need to pinch myself.”

Shalee nodded. “I totally agree.”

Mosley shrugged as he responded. (Fellow soul ... I hope you can imagine how it looks when a wolf shrugs.) “I told you the gods wanted to make your transition into this world as easy as possible. This is good, is it not ... considering you feel you were brought here against your will? Perhaps the seasons were named the same for this reason. I don’t know why you would want to pinch yourself, Sam. I’m sorry I’m not more helpful. If I knew more, I would answer to your satisfaction. However, I’m sure Bassorine will know the answers you seek.”

“Okay, okay. You said Brandor is many Peaks from here. I’m assuming since you don’t have clocks, then you probably don’t have cars either. Are we riding horses, walking, or ... I don’t know, river rafting or something? Give it to me straight. How many Peaks from here is Brandor?”

While he waited for Mosley’s response, Sam studied the countryside. Everything he could see was fascinating. It was all green. The valleys and mountain ranges stretched far beyond his view. He marveled at how clean the air was. It had not been poisoned like it had been on Earth. It was crisp, fresh, and pleasant. He took a deep breath.

Shalee jumped in before Mosley could speak. “Yeah, exactly how far are we going? And by the way, I’m starving. I’m not going anywhere else in my PJs, nor am I going on an empty stomach. After all, a woman needs to look her best when leaving home, and I’d say this definitely qualifies as leaving home.”

She pulled at the hem of her pajama top. “Please tell me you have something else for us to wear. Mine best be cute. They could’ve at least grabbed my wardrobe when they snatched me up.” Shalee frowned. “I don’t take kindly to being taken away from my life ... especially my closet.”

Shalee lifted her new staff, twirled it above her head, and continued, “Hey! And another thing. How do I make this staff thingy whip up something fab? Will I be able to turn a prince into a frog and stuff like that?”

Mosley waited for Shalee to stop kidding around, and then he directed his attention to Sam. He was comforted, knowing these were questions he could answer. “I have the knowledge to answer your inquisitions. The gods have left suitable attire for you inside the temple. Shalee, I have no idea what you consider fab. If you don’t like what has been provided, you’ll need to speak with Bassorine.”

Shalee smiled and tapped the butt of her staff on the ground. “Don’t you worry about that, once I figure out how to zap him good with this thing, I’ll get his fashion sense up to speed.”

The wolf laughed. “The gods will seal the temple to visitors once you’ve changed. They won’t want the inhabitants of Grayham knowing about the crystal’s disappearance.”

Mosley continued to answer their questions. “Your second question was how many Peaks will it take to get to Brandor. If we travel by paw, it is a 56 Peak journey. Your final answer is—”

Shalee interrupted, snapping, “Didn’t he just say, from one Peak to the next is a day?” She looked at Sam for the answer.

Seeing her expression was a mix of anger and disbelief, the wolf’s enthusiasm to answer their questions dwindled.

Sam responded, “He did. Why?”

Shalee turned and gave Mosley a look. “You listen to me, you big overgrown puppy. If you think for one minute that I’m going to walk 56 days to get to this Brandor place, you’re crazy. I’m no Joan of Arc, and I’m definitely not a Mormon pioneer. I don’t even own a wagon.”

She continued to vent. “Who does this shaggy mutt think I am anyway, the Crocodile Hunter’s wife? For heaven’s sake! There better be another way to get there. And where would we sleep tonight? I’m not about to wear these PJs two nights in a row. That’s just wrong. They look terrible. Look at all the burn marks.”

She poked her finger through a few of the holes left behind by the lightning. “I don’t have money on me. This is nuts.” Looking back at Mosley, a new thought blurted out. “I just got a pedicure, and my nails are looking delicious. I don’t even have my hairbrush. How can you possibly expect me to deal with all of this without my brush? You’re lucky I don’t have a rolled up newspaper.”

Sam found Mosley’s wide eyes. He could see the wolf was confused. He ignored Shalee and attempted to whisper into their furry guide’s ear. “Just disregard her for now.”

Hearing the comment, Shalee blew up. “Disregard me? Who do you think you are, buddy? Who died and made you a king?”

Sam held Mosley’s gaze. “Like I said, just ignore her.” As he continued to speak, Sam could feel Shalee’s glare stabbing him in the back.

Mosley decided to play along. He winked at Sam in his own wolfish way and then turned to Shalee. “I said it was a 56 Peak walk, but I said nothing about sleeping. It will take twice as long to get there if we waste the moments necessary to rest. Did you expect us to stop? I can make the journey straight through.”

It was clear by Shalee’s response that she failed to recognize the wolf’s chiding. “Oh, for all the angels in Heaven!” she shouted. “You’ve got to be kidding me!” She flopped down on the wooden platform and started to cry.

“I said I wanted an adventure, not blisters. I don’t have any suntan lotion for a trip like this, and I burn easy. I don’t have my makeup. I don’t have deodorant. I don’t have perfume. I don’t even have any clean panties. For Pete’s sake, I hate this place. I swear I’ll never wish again. Yep, oh yeah, I’ll never wish again. Thanks, Mom, for feeding me a wonderful line of crap about how wishes come true. This isn’t even close to my idea of fun. This has got to be the worst granted wish ever.” Tears filled her eyes as she put her head between her knees and continued to crumble. “I think I’m having a breakdown.”

Sam had to smile at Shalee’s reaction. He looked at Mosley and leaned in closer to the wolf before whispering again. “Just wait until she figures out she doesn’t have any tampons. She’s really going to blow then.”

Mosley tilted his furry head and whispered back, “What are tampons, Sam?”

The human could only laugh. “Aahhhhh … forget it. Let’s just say where we’re from, most women don’t find this sort of adventure entertaining. I also hope you have another solution for getting us to Brandor. I don’t want to walk 56 Peaks, and we’ll definitely need to sleep.”

Shalee lifted her head and whimpered, “I need a soft pillow to lie my head on, Mosley. I’m not cut out for this kind of thing. How can I look decent if I can’t get rest?” She buried her head again into her knees.

Sam changed the subject. “Okay, okay. So how do we get down from the top of the cliffs? They don’t look scalable.”

Nodding, Mosley responded, “The gods did make the cliffs unassailable. There are, however, stairs behind the face of the rock, but this isn’t how we’ll be traveling.”

Mosley turned to Shalee, who was still crying, and raised his voice. “I have a way to get you to Brandor without making you walk! You can stop crying now. Let’s get you dressed for the journey.”

Shalee wiped away her tears with the sleeve of her pajama top, and as she did, Mosley asked Sam to ring a large bell at the far side of the platform. “The only way to get from the top of the cliffs to the land below, without using the steps, is to ride the griffins who live inside the cliffs.”

With that, Shalee started in again. “If you think I’m gonna ride some giant whatever it is, you got another think coming. I’m not about to get on some creepy, flying thing. I don’t know how to ride stuff like that. Do they bite? Goodness-gracious, I bet they bite. Oh my gosh, do they smell?”

Mosley had heard enough. He leaned in and breathed on Shalee’s face. She fell unconscious as her body slumped over onto the platform.

“She will be asleep for a while,” the wolf said. “I’m sure she’ll be far more pleasant after she’s had the moments to adjust. Are all the women from your Earth like her?”

Sam smiled. “Only the ones worth keeping. I have to admit, I find her attractive. I like her sassiness. She’ll grow on you, Mosley. She’s just stressed right now, that’s all. But I am glad you knocked her out.”

Sam took a deep breath. “I feel a bit off myself. Ever since I got here, so many things have reminded me of my dreams. It sounds like they have reminded Shalee of her dreams as well. I know I’ve never met her before, but I swear, it feels like I have. I wanted to tell her that, but that would’ve been too much for her to handle right now.” He looked down at Shalee. “Just trust me, Mosley, you’ll grow to like her. I’m sure of it.”

“I hope you’re right,” Mosley responded. “I find her annoying ... like a tick on my tail.”

Sam grinned and then changed the subject. “Earlier, you mentioned the God of the Sun. Do all the gods have titles?”

Mosley thought long and hard before answering. “They do amongst the Collective, but the gods do not allow their followers to know their true nature. Again, I know this only because of my service to Bassorine.”

“Why would the gods hide their nature?”

“I’m not allowed to answer your question, Sam. We should speak of another topic. Why don’t you tell me more about your Earth?”

Annoyed that Mosley was unable to answer his question, Sam shook his head and started talking about Earth. Soon, a massive, flying beast appeared from below the edge of the cliff and prepared to land.

Sam moved to the far side of the platform as the creature set down. The wind generated by the griffin’s wings made standing difficult. Sam had to grab hold of the railing to maintain his balance.

The griffin—part eagle, part lion—was huge, its wings sporting dark-brown feathers with white tips. The feathers covering his head were also white, and his beak possessed an amber hue that matched the setting sun. The rest of its body was covered by tan fur. The beast’s massive paws on its back legs touched down first while its razor-sharp, front talons grabbed hold of a round beam that rested just above the surface of the platform. The creature lifted its head, scanned the area with its piercing eyes and then shrieked.

Sam watched in awe as Mosley walked up to the creature without fear. Though dwarfed, the wolf shouted orders in a foreign language. To Sam’s surprise, he understood pieces of the language, but again, he failed to comprehend why. He made a mental note and kept the discovery to himself.

“I asked the beast to wait until we return from the temple. We should hurry. Griffins are not known for their patience.”

After Sam finished dressing, he changed Shalee and cautioned Mosley that, if asked, he was to tell Shalee a temple maid dressed her. He wanted her dignity to be left intact. But Sam did admit, however, that he enjoyed completing the task.

Sam’s thoughts ran wild as he secured Shalee’s headpiece. You’re breathtaking. The outfit Bassorine left for you makes you look like a princess. How nice would it be if I was your prince?

Mosley showed Sam where a large pouch, full of food, had been prepared. The wolf explained the journey to Brandor would take 6 Peaks by air. Fortunately, the moments necessary would be provided to sleep, since the wolf really did need to sleep.

They made sure they had everything they needed before they left and watched as the temple doors were sealed. No one would be allowed to enter until the Crystal Moon was returned. The sign on the temple door read:

Temple Closed

For Inquisitive Minds,

We are Gods, and We Don’t Owe

You an Explanation


(Fellow soul ... I’m just kidding. The sign didn’t say that.)

Sam lifted Shalee onto the griffin’s back, and then he climbed up. After securing their weapons with leather straps that were attached to the saddle, he tied Shalee in. Sam gulped as the beast walked to the edge of the platform.

“Hold on!” Mosley shouted as best he could while biting down on another set of straps. “This is going to be exhilarating!” The wolf dug his claws into the leather of the saddle.

They dropped off the edge and fell more than 4,000 feet before the griffin opened his wings and swooped out over the picturesque landscape.





Soresym [Sor-e-sym]