Tower

No update today, but you can now read Tower, by me!

Tower

In the land of Mitharis there is a tower. No one remembers how or when it got there; as long as the people have been around, so has the tower. The tower is at the very center of the land, and it was rumored that when you stood at the top you could see the entire land of Mitharis and even the lands beyond the Ridge. The odd thing was that, if you were to ask anyone what the tower looked like, or what was inside it, they would look at you oddly, with a puzzled expression, and say, “Well, it’s the tower. Everyone knows what’s inside!”, then change the subject or simply walk away. The tower was there, but the people never really gave it much thought, and the days passed in Mitharis without change.

Occasionally, however, someone would grow very interested in it. Treasure hunters, adventure seekers, or those just looking for a change in the monotony of their lives would begin asking everyone about it, finding out everything they could about the tower. And then, when they either were fed up with questioning or simply impatient, they set off on the journey for the tower. These curious souls were soon forgotten by the townspeople, and they did not return. It was considered a curse to go journeying to the tower, and the saying “Going to the tower” began to be used as another way of saying “death”. Yes, people tended not to dwell on the tower or its seekers, yet in the back of everyone’s mind lay the question of what the tower really was. Indeed, the townsfolk had guesses. But no one knew for sure.

Part I

Stephen Mahew opened his eyes. His hands were cold. They always seemed cold these days. But he had grown used to it. So why had he noticed them now? He looked around the camp. There was his brother Travis, Daniela Stearns, and… where was Jef? “Jef!” he called. “Jef? This isn’t… we already lost Trace, Jef! Jef?!” His shouting awoke his two companions. Daniela, instantly alert as always, was already climbing the nearest tree to look. “There he is, Stephen! He’s heading straight for it!”

“No! First Trace, now Jef? We agreed not to go until morning!”

“Let him go, Steph.” A new voice this time, the voice of Travis. “The lure of the Tower…” he thought for a moment. “The lure of the Tower… has too much power.” Chuckling to himself, he curled back up in his sleeping bag.

“Now’s not the time, Travis!” His brother was strong-willed and had a way with words, but tended to be lighthearted a bit too much. Even in the direst situations. Even now. “We have to go after him!”

Daniela sighed. “There’s no way. You might be able to make it, Stephen, but Travis and I…” Her voice petered off. She was smart, Daniela, but was never the most fit girl in Mitharis. She tried her best, though, and didn’t let the fact that she only had one arm slow her down. She sighed. “Travis is right, though I don’t much care for the way he presented it. If I had to guess…” (“if I had to guess” was Daniela’s favorite phrase) “I’d say losing Trace was just too great. They always spent so much time together, though their parents, and everyone else in Mitharis, frowned upon it. If Trace…no, because Trace made it to the Tower, Jef had to go too. But we knew this would happen.” She shimmied down the tree. “Anyway, the best course of action would be to get some rest. If tomorrow’s finally the day we arrive…”

“We can’t.”

“What do you mean, Stephen?”

“We can’t have this happen again. We need to act now.”

“You’re not seriously suggesting that we enter the Tower at night, are you?”

“Of course not. But we need to remake the Bond.”

“Again? It’ll be our third time! Can’t you see it’s useless?”

“Of course he sees that.” Travis said. “But Stephen absolutely hates losing his friends. And the bond, no matter how childish, no matter how much it doesn’t work –“

“Doesn’t work? What are you talking about? Of course it works!”

“Like it worked for Trace?! And then like it worked for Jef?! Face it Stephen, the Bond just doesn’t work!”

Grace Mahew was crying.”What’s wrong, momma?” a young Stephen asked. “Please stop crying. I don’t like it when you cry.” Grace looked down at her son, trying to stem the stream of salty sadness. “Stephen, my son…” she choked out. “Please go get your brother for me. Please!” Stephen ran into the house, holding back tears of his own. This was his mom! She was always strong, always there for him, always smiling even when daddy wasn’t. Why was she crying? It wasn’t right. “T-Travis! Come on! Something’s wrong with mom!” He didn’t wait for Travis’s reply, but ran screaming back outside. Grace turned to him. Her tears had stopped, but her face was still sad. “It’s alright, Stephen. Come here, and calm your tears. It’ll be alright.”

Five minutes later, Stephen knew the truth. “Now come,” Grace said. “There’s something I would like us to do. As a family, we must always stick together. So we will form a Bond. Once a Bond is formed, the people who formed it agree to stick together despite all odds, and to share their destinies. You will not see father again, so we will make this Bond and agree to always, always remain a family. Repeat after me, boys. “I, as a being in Mitharis, do hearby swear by the Tower itself, that no matter what happens, even…”

“… if the sky were to crumble and the very Earth shake itself apart, that I will remain with those with which I have made this pact, and thus our destinies will be forever intertwined, whether for the good or for the evil, despite what may come our way, until death does finally separate us. I take… the Bond!” And then it was over.

Part II

Stephen Mahew opened his eyes. It was morning, and his friends were already awake, and were bustling about taking down the camp. He yawned. Despite the events that had occurred last night, he still felt rested. “Finally awake?” asked Travis. “Oh, give me a break! Help me pull up this stake, or I’ll throw you in the lake!” Stephen looked around. There were no lakes nearby. “Try harder.” he told his brother, then got up to help him take down the tent. “You know,” said Daniela, who had somehow already managed to roll up Stephen’s sleeping bag, “today’s our last day. Do we really need to bring all our things? If I had to guess, I’d say that there will be a place to stay inside the Tower. I mean, if there’s a place where they can work on a new arm for me, then…”

“Daniela!” shouted Travis.

“Huh?”

“Snap out of it!

“Oh… heh heh. Sorry. I got carried away. It’s just that the Tower… I’ve heard it has the best minds in the land! They can fix, build, and solve anything; they might be able to make me a new arm!”

“And that’s not the only thing the Tower has.” Continued Stephen. “All of our friends…” he glanced at Travis, “and dad.”

“No, Simon, please! We’ll figure out a way!” pleaded Grace Mahew. Simon Mahew was pacing quickly in the room, wringing his hands like he did when he was agitated. “But don’t you understand, Grace? This is our chance! My chance! We’ll never have to live like this again! If I find the treasure in the Tower, we can end all of our problems! Think of Stephen and Travis; do you really want to raise them here?” He gestured around the small room they were in. “Of course I care, Simon. But I’m just so worried about you. No one ever comes back from the Tower!”

“I will be the first! I’m not like the others!”

“I know you’re not, Simon. That’s why I need you here with me. You’re special to me, Simon. Please…”

“Grace, I… you’re just making this harder for both of us. I’ve made up my mind. I leave at sunset. Whether or not you’ll come to see me off will be your decision, but come tomorrow I’ll be gone.”

Grace took one last look in her husband’s face, knew there was no way to change his mind, and began to cry.

She awoke the next morning and saw the room was empty. “Simon!” she cried. There was no response. She raced outside… but he was gone. From behind, a young child tottered out on unsteady legs and asked a simple question. “What’s wrong, momma?”

“We don’t even know he made it, Stephen.” Said Travis.

“Of course he did!” Stephen replied. Daniela was politely busying herself on the other side of the camp. But, growing impatient, she turned.

“Are we ready to go now?” she asked. “The Bond will hold us together. It’ll help us cross this final, toughest leg of our journey.” She smiled kindly at Stephen. She had said that just for him, and it seemed to work. He perked up, and dropped the argument with his brother.

“Let’s go then.” He ordered. The group of three began to walk. They hadn’t gone far when they entered the Moor. Bitter winds, thick fog, and piercing sounds characterized this final stretch. The group of friends stuck together, weathering the weather as one. And always in the distance, always visible, was the reason they subjected themselves to this; the Tower itself.

They all had their own reasons, of course, for heading to the Tower. It was a place of dreams; since no one knew what it was like, no one knew what it had or didn’t have. Was it a place of chaos and destruction, causing all who entered it to perish? Was it the greatest place in Mitharis, full of the best, the brightest, the strongest; treasure flowing freely, and so much beauty the biggest houses in the real world seemed like shanties in comparison? Was it a gateway to another world, where people could not return no matter how hard they tried? No one knew. It was the granter of wishes and the destroyer of dreams, the dark needle that held the whole world of Mitharis together. It was where many had gone, but none had returned. And it was where three friends now marched, unsure as to what awaited them, unsure of their fate, sure of only their steadfast companions beside them.

Daniela Stearns longed for doctors that could change the way her life had always been. Travis Mahew wanted a place where he could be recognized for who he was and his skills, rather than always living in his elder brother’s shadow, rather than always being scolded for his talent with words. Stephen Mahew wanted to find his lost friends who had broken the Bond, but, more importantly, his father.

“Stephen, Travis, please! Your father has never come back!”

“That is why we are going. We will find him for you, and be the first to return.”

“You’re so alike… but why, why must all I love go to the Tower?”

“You act as if we’re not coming back, mom. Don’t worry about us.”

“Please Stephen… Travis, will you at least stay?”

“I’m sorry, but I will not stay. I’ll return again another day.”

“I’m sorry, mother. Goodbye.” And Grace Mahew watched her two sons walk off toward the Tower, meeting up with three others. She wondered if she would ever see them again.

The three friends emerged safely from the Moor. Whether their Bond, or their friendship, had held them together they could not say. The Tower stood in front of them. They took one last look at each other, and stepped into the Tower.