The Green Rings

A sequel to The Chronicles of Narnia and maybe even to Alone.

~*~

"You see, friends… that before the new, clean world I gave you is seven hours old, a force of evil has already entered it; waked and brought hither by this son of Adam." - Aslan, The Magician's Nephew

~*~

Julianqi straightened up and began to tell the story in the old-fashioned way he was taught to tell any story.

"I was brought up in the distant lands of Herspan by a magician named Fuu. The people of Herspan are all worshippers of the great god Tash and have been following the ways of the old people for centuries." Here he stopped and looked around to see if everybody was listening. The enchanting music had stopped yet the wind was blowing in tune as if backing up his story.

"When I was a baby, my parents came into debt of the magician Fuu. And as to repay him they placed their youngest son, which happened to be myself, at his feet and insisted that he should take me as his servant or apprentice; which ever he may be in need of. My new master was enraged by their selfishness but took me under his wing because he knew that he could not return me, as it is a custom to never return an offering."

"My master was kind, much kinder than my parents could have ever been to me. He clothed me, fed me, and taught me a bit of magic. He did not make me his servant, nor his apprentice. Rather his adopted Nephew. For 8 years I lived peacefully with him, doing all I could to repay for his kindness, and generosity. The people of my village began to recognize me as his successor, though it was quite clear to the two of us I was not. Then, the day I turned 10 the great god Tash appeared before me, at first I thought it was a dream and that I had fallen asleep while laying in the grass in a near-by meadow."

"It became clear to me however, that it was real, not a dream as it was too clear to be a dream. The great Tash appeared before me and observed my reaction for a few minutes. I got down to bow before him when all of a sudden he struck, across my forehead." Julianqi pointed to a scar on his forehead, which every body leaned over to observe.

"I was shocked and confused and my first reaction was that maybe I had committed a sin and I was about to die when all of a sudden he put out his two feathered hands and seized me by my shoulders. He lifted me and ran his beak over my forehead. The wound healed by itself but I knew that there was something new about me. It was then that I realized that Tash had chosen me. He disappeared and I was left alone again."

"I ran back to my master's house and told him what had happened. At first he thought I had been dreaming then when I showed him the scar he grew solemn. 'My Boy', he said 'You have been chosen by Tash, you are now one of his warriors. There are very few like you. In fact, it has been 400 years since the great Tash last chose one of his warrior's from this area. You are no longer a Herspanian, you should leave here by the setting of the 4th sun… go to the woods and keep travelling, Tash will guide you along the way and eventually you shall be given your quest.' And with that we packed some of my clothes, a lot of money, a bit of food, a few potions and spells, a bow and arrow and a sword. By sunset next day I had left."

Julianqi paused. His voice had grown solemn and louder by now and the stop seemed to silence everything and stop time. Julianqi let the story sink in while he drank from his water goblet. Then before anybody could say anything else he continued.

"So I traveled through the forest, bathing in the stream, eating little of what I had, and living the life of a wanderer. Often at night it got so cold that I felt that I would die. Then I would remember Tash and the scar he gave me and I would try to bear the night, for that is what warrior's are to do."

"It was on one of these harsh and cruel nights that I saw another vision. This time not of Tash but of a lion. I had heard of the lion Aslan, and I was surprised because as far as I knew; Aslan had vanished years after the otherworlds disappeared."

At the mention of Aslan people gasped and leaned over and off of their seats to hear more about him. Through the silence the only sound that was heard was of Ben clicking his pen. Everybody turned to stare at him and when he realized he was disturbing them he put the pen back in his shoes and sighed:

"Sorry, continue…"

Julianqi continued; "As it turned out, it was not so. I was then told of a story, the story of how Narnia came to be and what became of it. I also learned that the place we live today is what used to be once upon a time 'The wood between the worlds'. The pools have dried, and are located in the secret mountain. That is my actual quest. I traveled many days after that, across the mountains, valleys and rivers in complete isolation… occasionally greeted by the visions of Tash and of Aslan."

"This is the first place with people, and it was Aslan's request that I come to the palace and from here I would find out my journey." He finished. The king looked up from his plate and clapped once.

"You impress me boy, a toast in the name of Aslan… and Tash." He said and when they'd toasted they began to feast.

~*~

A/N: It turned out to be shorter than I'd wanted it to be ^_^. Oh well, I'll try to write the next chapter soon.