Hello, all:
We’ve been going through my Very First novel, Quest for the Lost Island, these past few weeks: last week we reached chapter three, wherein main character Lucy went through a waterfall and found herself in another place entirely, and next thing she knew she was talking to and catching a ride from a large talking owl named Luther. (Once again, my apologies to C.S. Lewis). This week: Chapter Five!
That flight was one of the most wonderful things that had ever happened to her. The glorious feeling of being lighter than air, of the wind rushing in her face, of the strong, sturdy mount beneath her and knowing she wouldn’t slip off, and the incredible scenes that spread out before her, all mixed together in a great swell of wonder and awe. Lucy remembered that flight for the rest of her days.
From atop Luther. she could see even more of the land than she had from the cliff. She could see that to the far south lay a wide blanket of dark green, which she realized was a vast forest, much thicker than the small groves and wooded areas that dotted the plain. It stretched as far as she could see, a rolling emerald carpet, unmarred by castle spires or city walls.
She could also see that there was not only one river, but three! The river she had seen first ran down past the great city and split into two separate rivers. One flowed south into the great forest, while the other flowed due east, towards the sea. Lucy caught a glimpse of two large islands off the coast.
Luther nodded his head towards the city Lucy had seen from the cliff. "That resplendent metropolis on the skyline is our capital, Navina," he called back.
Lucy looked harder at the city, seeing more clearly its lofty towers and its high wall. She saw also that a magnificent palace dominated the city. The palace sat squarely in the middle of the capital and seemed to have come right out of a storybook, with bright pennants fluttering from tall spires, large banners draped over balconies, and even some stained-glass windows, depicting brave knights and royal monarchs.
Lucy ran the name of the city through her mind, trying to remember if she had ever heard of a city called Navina. She could not place the name, but she thought it might be somewhere in another country. Of course, that did not explain how she had come to be there, but there was still the possibility that she was dreaming. Lucy wondered if she should pinch herself. Instead, she decided to ask Luther about where she was, hoping maybe she might get a clue about the city, and how she came to be there.
"Urn, Luther," she said, "What country is this? I mean, where are we?"
Luther looked astonished. "Surely you jest! Do you not know? I had supposed that everyone had some comprehension of our distinguished monarchy. Are you in earnest?"
Lucy assured the owl that it was true. "Honestly, I don't recognize any of this. Are we still in the United States, or are we in Canada, or what?"
The owl appeared completely bewildered. "I must confess, I am completely bewildered!" (See?) "I have no knowledge of any political dominions with the designations of the Amalgamated Commonwealths and Canada." The owl pronounced Canada to rhyme with Grenada. Lucy started to correct him, but Luther continued. "This particular sovereign state we are currently positioned in is acknowledged in areas distant and nearby as the Kingdom of Sirilan."
"Sirilan," Lucy said to herself. She had never heard of a country with that name. For a moment, she wondered if she was still on Earth. After all, she knew almost everyone on Earth knew about the United States, and would not have referred to it as the Amalgamated Commonwealths. Moreover, the mere fact that she was discussing this with a giant talking owl made her wonder … then she managed to recall herself to reality. This was sounding too much like one of the fantasy stories Sean was always babbling about to be true. She was probably peacefully sleeping in her bed, and any moment her alarm clock would go off, and…
Lucy's reverie was sharply interrupted as Luther unexpectedly dived towards the ground. She felt a sharp surge of panic (and a slight sense of deja vu) as the owl plunged downwards "Lutherrrrrrrrr!" she screamed. The ground rushed rapidly to meet her.
Again, Luther pumped the air with his wings, only this time, he gradually slowed and gently glided down towards a massive oak tree, which was in the middle of a small patch of woodland. With an incredible display of skill and talent, the owl landed carefully on a broad tree limb.
Lucy breathed a sigh of relief as she climbed gingerly down onto the tree limb. "Um, Luther," she said, trying to calm her quivering voice, "Maybe next time you could give me a little warning before you drop like that?"
Luther looked blank. "Why, I had thought that was standard procedure for aviation takeoffs and landings, is it not?"
Lucy seriously considered fainting, but remembered in time that she was at least nine feet above the ground. Instead, she secretly vowed never to fly on an owl's back again as long as she lived.
Lucy followed the owl towards the place where the tree limb joined the great trunk of the gigantic oak. She saw with some surprise that a little wooden door was set into the trunk. A small handle was placed about halfway up.
Luther opened the door and stepped inside. Lucy followed, with some trepidation. She was not exactly thrilled about going into a dark hole in a tree trunk, which probably was the nest of a giant owl, which might be luring her into a trap. After all, who knew what giant owls eat?
Lucy pushed aside her suspicions, remembering that Luther had met with Sean and Conrad, and apparently, they trusted him. If Conrad and Sean trusted the owl, so would she. (Of course, she was considering Conrad's opinion a little more than Sean's)
Luther went up a short flight of steps, and through an open trapdoor. Lucy followed, emerging into what apparently was the owl's living room. The room was fairly large, with wooden walls, a thick brown carpet, and a dark green roof that Lucy realized was made from leaves!
The room's most prominent features were the gigantic armchair in one corner, and the bookshelves. The bookshelves covered most of the walls, except for a small doorway and a wide window on the opposite wall. Those bookshelves were filled full to bursting with books.
Lucy had never seen so many books! There were big books and little books, thick books and thin books, red books and blue books, and books of every color, size, and shape imaginable. They had titles like Prevalent Mathematical Formulae and Theorems, and Welmar 's Comprehensive Dictionary of Intellectual Words and Colloquialisms, and Collections of Owl Poetry, and Remnan’s Analysis of Sirian Architecture. These were just a few of the myriad of books that filled the room.
As Lucy stood, gazing at Luther’s vast library, she suddenly noticed something that made her start with surprise. In a corner of the room, nestled comfortably in a small heap of cushions, was Sean Christopher, deep into a thick volume entitled A Complete History of Sirilan. The sight of Sean, happily reading away in the corner, made Lucy feel an odd swell of emotion. Ever since this whole strange adventure had begun, she had been longing for something familiar, something she knew, instead of unknown places and peculiar animals that talked. Sean appeared so natural and normal that Lucy nearly burst into tears. She was kept from this by the sudden thought that it would be rather embarrassing, crying hysterically in front of Sean. who constantly made fun of girls and how `emotional' they often were. Instead, she decided to ask Sean how he had gotten there and see if he had any idea as to where they were.
This was easier said than done. One of Sean's tendencies was when he was reading a book to become completely absorbed in it, to the point that he would forget all else. Sometimes, if he was reading a really good book, he would even forget about meals and school. Conrad had once stated exasperatedly that a nuclear holocaust would not have disturbed Sean when he was reading. While this may be a slight exaggeration, it is safe to say that once Sean got started reading a book, it was almost impossible to get him stopped.
Lucy tried three times to get Sean's attention, but all to no avail. Frustrated, she decided to see where Luther had gone. She decided that he must have gone into the next room. So, she promptly went through the doorway. Sean didn't even look up when she left. For that matter, he had never even known she was there.
In the next room, there was a simple kitchen and dinette, clearly made for owl use. There was another large window on the wall opposite the door, and on the right wall was an opening into what apparently was Luther's bedroom, Lucy caught a glimpse of a small bed, surrounded by piles of books. She wondered if Luther had even read them all, but further thoughts on this subject were cut short by Conrad's exclaiming, "Lucy! It's you! How'd you get in here? I thought you had stayed behind at the Falls!"
Lucy felt another quick surge of emotion. Quickly covering her immense relief at seeing Conrad again, she said, "I saw Sean go in the cave after you and I got worried when you didn't come out. So, I went in after you. What happened to you guys, anyway?"
Conrad looked a little sheepish. "Well, I was kind of mad at you and Sean, cause you didn't want to explore the cave. So I decided to just stay in the cave for a while until you either came in or left. I figured I might as well explore the tunnel while I was in there, so I went down it clear to the end and came out at the cliff. I didn't recognize anything, and it had been a while since I'd gone in the cave, so t thought 1 should probably go back. Just then, Sean came out and we talked for a while, then Luther showed up and invited us to his `aerie' or whatever to eat something. Sean really liked him, so I thought we might as well go. Didn't Sean tell you any of this?"
"Oh, you know Sean, he gets a good book and it's bye-bye to the real world," Lucy replied. "If we are in the real world. Do you have any idea where exactly we are?"
Conrad shook his head. "Nope. Sean said something about Narnia, but-
Lucy interrupted. “It can’t be that. Narnia is fictional! It doesn’t even exist! There’re no such things as Marshwiggles or dwarves or fauns or anything like that, and besides, Luther called this place Sirilan, not Narnia.”
Conrad looked as if he wasn't quite sure. "You have to admit, this is a little strange, I mean, talking owls, castles, medieval cities, it's not like we're in Kansas anymore, Toto."
"Look, Conrad, this isn't Oz, or Narnia or anywhere! There's a logical explanation for all of this, and I'm going to find out what it is if it's the last thing I-"
Lucy's tirade was interrupted by Luther's reappearance. "Excuse me, but now that you three associates have reunited, I believe that you had expressed a desire to learn more about the locality in which you are currently present. I must confess that I would also like to know about the regions from where you originated, and how you came to be here. I have just examined my extensive accumulation of maps and I have confirmed that there are no countries in this area such as you have described. Besides that, there are no H2O formations and recreational areas near the Northern Mountains. At least, not like the ones you have informed me about."
"B-but that can't be!" Lucy exclaimed. "We were just in the park before we came in the cave! How did we get here?"
"l don't know," said Conrad. "Maybe we're all dreaming, or I am at least."
"I beg your pardon, but I can confidently assure you, sir, that I most certainly am not a mere figment of your imagination!" stated a very irate owl, "Nor am I a hallucination, a fabrication, or a fantasy! I am as existent as you are. If you desire to venture into that realm of philosophy, who is to say that I am not dreaming and you are not merely figments of my imagination?"
They couldn't argue with that. Just then, Sean reluctantly closed the book, climbed out of the snug corner, and joined the others. "I can tell you one thing," he said. "From what I've learned from this book, we aren't anywhere near Forestview, or the United States, or Earth, for that matter. According to this book, this country, Sirilan or whatever, is practically medieval in its technology. It doesn't say anything about cars, or lightbulbs, or electricity, or anything. Besides, where on Earth are there any talking animals? Like Conrad said, l don't think we're in Kansas anymore."
Yep, this is a Key Turning Point, as they are indeed in Another World, one you may remember from the prologue. I still don’t remember where I got Sirilan from. They all speak and write in English, natch; as previously mentioned, I’m not working at Tolkien’s level here. Luther does raise an interesting point, though.
What if we’re all really fragments of the imagination of a highly intelligent owl in a poorly written but hopefully decent tale written by a mid-90s kid who hadn’t discovered Douglas Adams or Monty Python yet and so hadn’t quite explored that mad wholesome vibe that we all know and love today? (It’s me. I’m talking about me here. That is, I’m the kid, not the owl.) If that’s the case, it’s a good thing the manuscript didn’t get destroyed, didn’t it?
Or worse, suppose Luther dies?
Oh dear.
We’ll find out soon enough.
Until next time,
Michael