History Sphere

Kathy Chalk

Description

In the Otherworld of Theia, the History Sphere, which is comprised of Earth's history, has been smashed by Warlock Brogan in an act of revenge. He has stolen five discs and his aim is to change world history and cause chaos in the human world. The History Keeper, a wizard called Hector, must seek the help of Olivia, an eleven year old human girl in order to retrieve the discs and repair the History Sphere. Olivia, her little dog Archie and her companions, a dwarf, an elf and a pyskie, must travel back in time to various pivotal world events in order to recover the discs. They must defeat all kinds of monster and demons, sent by Brogan to prevent them from securing their objective. Can Olivia and her unusual friends work together to find the love, friendship and courage they will need in order to overcome adversity, recapture the discs, complete the Sphere and allow earth history to remain unchanged. It will be a huge challenge but one that only Olivia can accept.

Informations

• Publié par: 2QT Limited (Publishing
• Date de parution: 16 janvier 2017
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781912014552
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

THE HISTORY SPHERE
Katy Chalk
2QT Limited (Publishing)
For my beautiful granddaughter Olivia in the hope that she will find love, friendship and courage all her life.
Acknowledgements
To my wonderful husband Peter without whose love, help and encouragement, I would not have completed this story and to Catherine, Charlotte and the rest of the team at 2QT who made my story a reality. Many thanks.
Chapter One
The Theft Of The Sphere
Life is either a daring adventure or nothing
Helen Keller, Teacher to the deaf and blind (1880–1968)
Hector raised his right hand and quietly muttered “Minimus lumen” and the lights along the walls of the Historeum dimmed. It was the end of a very long and busy day; a day that he felt had been heavy with foreboding and a brooding feeling of menace and expectation. Hector had felt edgy all day, waiting for something to happen although not knowing quite what to expect. He heard the heavy patter of rain on the glass ceiling and as he looked up he saw a watery moon sheltering behind a thin curtain of cloud as if frightened to shine and illuminate whatever was waiting to happen. Hector generally welcomed the sound of rain as it bounced and skipped across the roof. It had a rhythm that was comforting and soothing but he did not find it so this evening and it did not help to lift his melancholic mood. Hector looked towards the far end of the room and his favourite chair, which was called “Clio” after one of the nine beautiful Greek muses and the patroness of history. He felt this was a very appropriate name for the chair. He rubbed his tired eyes and decided that perhaps it was time to take a short break and rest his weary body. He was looking forward to a meal with colleagues and friends and to catching up on the news and events of the day. Clio looked very inviting and Hector felt certain that a five-minute rest would enable him to gather his strength and rid himself of the unpleasant feeling that had dogged him all day before he ventured out to enjoy the company of his friends. As he walked towards the chair he was struck by how lovely it looked in the half-light. The chair had been a gift from his friend Cephalonia, a fairy queen of the Hidden Isle, to thank him for administering a potion which had cured her of a dreadful illness that had robbed her of her beautiful looks and her ability to speak. Hector treasured the chair as an obvious mark of their deep friendship and mutual respect for each other.
Clio was a large wing-backed chair with big, wide arms. It was covered in deep-blue velvet, shot through with silver strands that shimmered and shone in the twilight, giving it an air of extraordinary otherworldly richness and colour. There were three enormous cushions covered in the same material, one in each corner and one in the middle. Hector knew that when he settled into the chair the cushions would envelop him and he would be transported to a world of unimaginable comfort, relaxation and peace. His weariness would disappear as if by magic, which was ironic considering he was a wizard. As Hector approached the chair it seemed to sense that he needed a rest and began to emit a low, gentle hum as if welcoming an old friend. The sound was almost hypnotic and Hector, as if answering its call, moved swiftly towards it. He settled himself in and immediately the cushions began to rustle and move, wrapping themselves round him, gently allowing him to become part of the chair as he sank deeper and deeper into its depths. He soon felt as if he was floating and the tiredness and heavy depression that had been with him all day gradually melted away.
*
Once he was comfortable, Hector reflected on how lucky he was to have a job that he really loved and a place in which he was very happy to work. The steady, rhythmic pattering of the rain at last had a soothing effect and as he relaxed, Hector looked proudly round his little domain, the Historeum. It was a large, square room and Clio was tucked in a corner, away from the hustle and bustle of the working area. The glass ceiling that covered the Historeum from end to end allowed natural light to flood the room as well as letting in the splendour of beaming sunshine and shimmering moonlight. At the end of the room, on the far wall, was the small but very important data-collecting machine, officially known as the Retriever of Historical Events and Activities but known to the Keeper as RHEA. The little machine was still buzzing and whirring as it processed the recent data that Hector had fed into it. Once the data had been registered, it would eject a small, colourful, fluorescent chip, which Hector would collect for the next part of his task. As his eyes moved to the right side of the room he was thrilled by what he saw. The wall was completely covered from top to bottom with bookcases that held all of Hector’s books. These were his pride and joy and had been collected over a long period of time. They included books on wizardry, spells, charms, enchantments, potions, magical lore, reference books and his beloved history books, which came from all over the human world. On the opposite wall there were shelves and cupboards with a long table underneath, all of which were covered with jars and bottles of all shapes and sizes. These contained all manner of plants, lotions, potions, creams, chemicals, animals, insects and coloured powders. There was also a vast array of utensils and instruments. Set into the wall near his chair there was a heavy wooden door through which two raven retrouvers would bring the daily historical data that Hector entered into RHEA. The two retrouvers were in fact Odin’s two ravens called Huginn and Muninn (Thought and Memory ) who had been blessed with the power of speech. Odin had lent them to Hector for a few hours each day in order for him to update the History Sphere. The thought of the ravens and what they brought turned Hector’s attention to the centre of the room where, hovering about a metre off the ground, was the most important object within the Historeum and the reason that this room and its Keeper existed: the History Sphere.
*
Hector never ceased to be amazed by the beautiful, brightly coloured sphere that shimmered incandescently in the centre of the room. It was not large but it was made up of millions and millions of tiny, rainbow-coloured fluorescent chips. These radiated arcs and beams of light that were so intense that a brilliant halo enveloped the whole Sphere. Hector thought it was the most wondrous thing that he had ever seen. The chips in the Sphere contained all the important historical events of mankind, from prehistory to the present. The information was collected by the retrouvers and delivered to Hector, who processed it and then placed the resulting chip in the Sphere. All the other departments in the building worked in the same way, with elves, dwarves, fairies and other magical beings collecting the necessary information. Hector was sad to think that the beautiful Sphere did not contain the history of his world but this was not possible because his world had no history of its own. It was inextricably linked to human beings and their planet, Earth. His task and that of all the other Keepers was to register all accumulated human knowledge in all its various forms. The Historeum was right at the top of a very large and impressive building called the Tabularium and within this building were all the other departments responsible for storing all the different subjects of gathered material such as Literature, Mathematics, Geography, Art, Music, Science, Languages and many more that Hector had heard of and many more that he had not.
*
As Hector began to drift off into a dreamless sleep he reflected on his life. He lived in an overworld, a parallel universe to Earth called Theia, and all the inhabitants of this world were figures of human imagination. This is why Theia had no history of its own and why Hector, a dream figure, could not himself dream. The inhabitants of Theia were born from the myths, legends, dreams and nightmares of the people of Earth. The veil between visible and invisible worlds is gossamer thin and easily torn, and it is this fragility that allowed the inhabitants of Theia to pass from the realms of fleeting inventiveness and come into existence. Hector, like all the other Keepers, was a wizard and he was born from the dream of a small boy called Tom one dark and dreary night after the boy had read a story about a boy wizard hero called Harry Potter. Hector, like Harry Potter, was patient, kind, respectful, honourable, compassionate and knowledgeable, perfect for the position of History Keeper. However, there was a problem because in Tom’s dream, Hector had to pit his courage and goodness against a warlock called Brogan.
*
The difference between Hector and Brogan was that Hector was a wizard who relied on his capability to use spells wisely and his own abilities to achieve success, whereas Brogan was a warlock, a sorcerer who dealt in complex black magic and wickedness. He could deal in demonic spells and rituals, he could summon demons and invoke powerful magic through effort of will and he was resistant to many forms of attack. In Tom’s dream the battle was long and hard because Brogan was resistant to much of the magic that Hector used and it took a great deal of effort by Hector to finally overcome the warlock. This defeat had left Brogan very angry, jealous and extremely dangerous. Hector knew that Brogan would attempt to seek revenge for his humiliating defeat, but at the moment he was contented as his eyes began to feel heavy. He knew it would not be long before he fell asleep. A short nap was just what he needed to recover his strength and so he gave himself up to the wonderful expanse of comfort he called Clio.
*
Hector was not sure how long he had been asleep but as he opened his eyes he