The Articulum By: Lance Holloway The night was calm. The sounds of insects and forest creatures filled the air with their songs. The leaves in the trees fluttered in the light, cool breeze. The moon in its full brightness lit up the canyon. The dark figure stepped into the moonlight from the forest to the edge of the cliff. The long robe that hung from his shoulders rippled in the wind. He raised his arms and shouted a stream of liquid syllables from an ancient language. The song of the night stopped and was replaced by thunder. Although it wasn't thunder from the sky. It was thunder from the ground. The lush floor of the canyon rumbled. The dirt flowed into clumps. Each clump was slightly larger than a human. And that is what they started to resemble. The lumps of soil were molded by invisible hands into the form of a large human. The dark figure looked down upon his creations as they moved toward the city surrounding the castle. A twisted grin spread across his face. ----------------------------------- Peten awoke to a bright sunny morning. He had many chores to do before breakfast. His uncle expected him to feed the horses and cows before he fed himself. Peten didn't mind. He was used to it by now. It had been four years since his parents died, and Uncle Jarmin gained custody of him. Peten got dressed and left out the back door to go to the stables. He liked feeding the horses and cows just as much as the cows and horses like him feeding them. He opened the door to the stables and all the animals eagerly poked their heads out of their stable to see Peten approach. They loved their morning feedings. Peten would always pat them and they enjoyed it. "Peten! Peten, are you in stables?" called his uncle from the back door to the house. "Peten, Turlon is here." "Turlon?" Peten asked no one in particular. "What is he doing here this early?" Turlon never comes over before breakfast unless there is something important. "I'll be done shortly," Peten yelled back. He finished feeding Arna. Her stall was the last one in the barn. She was a pretty horse. And smart too. For a horse. As Peten was walking back to the house, Turlon was coming out the back door. "Peten! Did you hear?" Turlon asked running up to his friend. "Hear what?" "Last night. Lortanell was attacked. They say dirt men invaded the town," Turlon answered. "Dirt men?" "Yeah. Supposedly an army of men made of dirt attacked. They killed almost everybody." Peten didn't know what to think. Lortanell was the closest city to the small town he lived in. If only the new Norrom would appear. There hadn't been a Norrom as long as Peten could remember. "Hey, Peten," Turlon said interrupting Peten's thoughts. "Have you played the new Wizard Wars game yet?" "No. Is it good?" Peten hadn't had a chance to go to the game hall. It just opened up a few months ago. This new invention of video games was becoming really popular. There were only a few games, but they seem to be very addicting. "Oh, yeah. It is so much better than that Paddle Ball thing. Want to go play it?" "Sure. But, I need to eat breakfast first," Peten said walking in the back door into the kitchen. He was getting hungry. His uncle had just finished making muffins and eggs. Peten usually helps, but he guessed that Uncle Jarmin got tired of waiting. "Ah, Peten," his uncle said when Peten walked up to the table. "I see you are ready for breakfast. You can go play those games when you are finished." "Thanks Uncle," Peten replied and took a bite of a muffin. "I don't know why you kids want to play those games. They keep you from doing chores. I bet they are the spawn of Swurg himself," Jarmin said leaving the kitchen. Turlon rolled his eyes as he sat down at the table. "You want something to eat?" Peten asked. "No, thanks. I just had some breakfast at home," Turlon answered. Peten finished his meal, and they both walked to the game hall. The roads didn't have many horses and carts this time of day. So, they reached the game hall quicker than normal. The usual crowd was there. And as usual they were crowded around the new video game. Peten and Turlon sat down at one of the tables to wait the crowd out. Turlon look toward the game to try to see through the crowd. "Hey, isn't that Jamk playing the game now?" he asked. Peten turned to peer over the crowd. Sure enough there was Jamk playing the game. "It looks like we are going to be waiting for a while," Peten told Turlon. Jamk was the best video game player in Morselon. "You want anything to drink?" Turlon asked standing up. "Just some water. Thanks," Peten replied. Turlon went to the drink counter. Peten looked back at the crowd around the game. All were eagerly waiting their turn while cheering Jamk on. The new game must be fantastic. "The new game must be fantastic," Turlon said setting the glass of water in front of Peten. "Jamk seems to be really into it." Peten took a sip of his water. Out of the corner of his eye he saw something through the window he was sitting next to. Something was happening in the road outside. A large group of people was gathering around three men standing in a cart in the middle of the road. Their horses looked like they had come a long way. "What's going on out there?" he asked. "Don't know," Turlon replied. The crowd around Jamk and the game noticed the crowd outside and joined them. Jamk continued to play his game. Peten and Turlon looked at Jamk and then the men on the cart outside. They both seemed to agree that the game can wait, and they joined the gathering out in the road. "And it has guided us here," the bigger man on the cart said to the crowd. The people all started talking to each other in amazement. Peten asked a woman next to him what was going on. "They say the new Norrom is here," she replied. "The Norrom!?" both Peten and Turlon said in unison. "The Rigulor will point out the Norrom to us if he is here," the man said. He took some round disk from the other man on the cart and held it up over his head. A beam of light shot from the disk and focused on Turlon. "The Norrom is here!" the man yelled. "Long live the Norrom!" The crowd all cheered and crowded around Turlon. "But I'm only 16," he protested. The people didn't care. They pushed and shoved to get closer to the Norrom. Peten was forced out of the crowd as they carried Turlon off down the street. Shouts of "The Norrom will save us from Swurg." and "Hail the Norrom." faded down the street as they paraded through the town. Peten stood in the road near the game hall watching. He was in shock. All this time he had been hoping for a new Norrom to end Swurg's evil, and Turlon was the one. "What's going on?" a voiced asked. Peten turned and saw Jamk run up to him from the game hall. "So, you finally finished your game?" Peten asked jokingly. "No, I just had to see what was happening," Jamk said. "Well, Turlon supposedly is the new Norrom." "What? Turlon? No," Jamk replied. "You have to be joking." "No. These men came with some disk that shows who the Norrom is. It pointed out Turlon," Peten tried to convince him. It was difficult since he didn't believe it himself. "Let's go find out why he is the Norrom," Jamk suggested. "He's the Norrom because he was born the Norrom," Peten stated. "Besides, everybody is trying to talk to him. Let's wait until the excitement dies down." "Ok," Jamk said reluctantly. Peten new it was because he missed the excitement the first time. "Hey, you want to play the new game?" "Yeah. I'm sure it's free to use," Peten answered. They both went into the game hall and played the new video game. ----------------- That night the moon was still full. It light up the dark corners of the town. The street lights lit up the rest. Nobody was out tonight. Nobody except for Peten and Jamk. Peten wanted to see Turlon. He wanted to know what was going on. Jamk felt the same. Suddenly their friend was declared the Norrom, and they haven't seen him since. The two approached Turlon's house. He was being kept there at his "castle" until better arrangements can be made. The three men that were in the cart were at the house. Their horses were tied up outside near their cart. It looked like one of the townsfolk was assigned to be guard. He was standing authoritatively at Turlon's door. Peten walked up to the guard. "We have come to see Turlon. He is our friend," Peten told the guard. "The Norrom is busy now," the guard said not looking at either of the boys. "When can we see him?" asked Jamk. "Try back tomorrow," the guard answered still not looking at either of them. The door opened and Turlon's mother stepped out. "I'm going to the store to get some groceries," she told the guard. The guard just nodded. Turlon's mom saw Peten and Jamk standing there. "Ah. Hi, boys. Isn't this exciting?" "Yes, Ma'am," they both said. "I'll tell you that these people are eating all of our food. I'm already out, and I just went shopping yesterday," she said with a laugh. "Why don't you go in. Turlon has been asking to see you." "The guard won't let us," Peten told her. "I'll fix that," she said turning to the guard. "Guard, these boys are here to see Turlon by the Norrom's request." "I haven't heard of this request," the guard said. "Where have you been? The Norrom has been asking to see them all day," she said getting angry. "I didn't...." "Of course you didn't. Now, let these two boys in" With that the guard opened the door. "There you go, boys," Turlon's mom said. "Turlon will be glad to see you." "Thanks," Peten and Jamk said as they walked in the house. The guard closed the door behind them. Inside was a group of people. The mayor of the town and other important people were among them. The rest Peten didn't recognize. The two boys ventured into the back rooms to find their friend. "You there!" came a voice from in front of them. "What are you doing here?" One of the three men from the cart was walking toward them from Turlon's bedroom. He wasn't the one that was speaking to the crowd that morning. He was the one that handed the other man the disk. "We are here to see Turlon," Peten said. "You wouldn't happen to be Peten and Jamk, would you?" the man asked. "That we are," Jamk replied. "Well. The Norrom has been asking to see you all day. You are needed for his journey," the man said leading them to Turlon's room. "Journey?" they both asked. "It will be explained to you shortly," the man said. The three entered Turlon's room. Turlon was sitting in a chair. The other two men were telling him things that the Norrom needed to know. Turlon seemed to be bored. He looked up and saw Peten and Jamk. "Norrom, Peten and ....." the man begun. "Peten! Jamk! I'm so glad to see you," Turlon interrupted. His bored face turned into one of excitement. "So, how's it going, Norrom?" Peten asked. "Don't you call me Norrom. I'll order your beheading," Turlon said grinning. "Norrom, we need to inform you of your quest," the man that was speaking on the cart this morning said. "But, I want to talk with my friends," Turlon said. "You'll have plenty of time for that. They are going with you," the man said. "What is this about a journey," Jamk asked. "I'm sorry," the man said. "Let me start from the beginning. I am Jorman. This is Kenmor, and the man who lead you in is Isnal. We are the men who are to seek out the new Norrom. We had a vision a year ago to seek the Norrom. We found him today." He motioned to Turlon. "Now, we are his advisors." "But, before he can become the Norrom, he must go on a quest for the Articulum," Kenmor said. "As his friends you must accompany him." "Isn't it great?" Turlon said. "We are going on an adventure." "What does this quest entail?" Jamk asked. "Well," Jorman said pacing the room. "You see, the Articulum is the artifact that gives the human who is Norrom the power to be Norrom. It is in a different location each time a new Norrom is chosen. You are to seek it out." "So, you don't know where it is?" Jamk asked. "No," Jorman replied. "Then how are we going to find it?" Jamk demanded. "With this," Turlon held up a black cube. "It is going to guide us to the Articulum." Peten didn't know how to take this. First his friend is the Norrom, and now they are going on a quest for some artifact. "When are we going to leave?" he asked. "Tomorrow morning," Jorman answered. "The Norrom needs to be in his true form as soon as possible." "Wait. Wait," Turlon interrupted. "What do you mean 'true form'?" Jorman continued pacing. "The Norrom is born human. But once he finds the Articulum, his body will change to signify his destiny as Norrom." "Change? Change into what?" Turlon asked. A hint of worry in his voice. "We do not know," Isnal replied. "All the previous Norroms have been changed into part animal. Your predecessor was part bear. The one before was part elephant. Each one is different." "Since the Norrom is the ruler of the world, the Norrom needs to be associated with the animals also," Kenmor continued. "No one knows the pattern of animals the Norrom is transformed into," Jorman said. "As far as we know, it is completely random." Peten saw Turlon's excitement turn to regret. The rest of the night, the three men informed the three boys on their quest. They didn't stay up too long, for they had to leave the next morning. -------------------- The next morning came and the three boys saddled up their horses. Jamk didn't have a horse so Peten let him ride Arna. Peten rode Metty. She was a good riding horse. Not as smart as Arna but better at long rides. Turlon was given the best horse in town, Dabb. Dabb was know throughout the region. He had won all horsing events in the past three years. Turlon didn't want to take the town's prize horse, but his protests went unnoticed. Uncle Jarmin and Turlon's parents came to see them off. Jamk's father didn't come. He and Jamk never seem to get along. "Take care of Metty and Arna," Uncle Jarmin told Peten. "I will," Peten said with a grin. Jorman, Kenmor, and Isnal were gathered around Turlon giving last minute instructions. Then Jorman walked away and addressed the group. "It is time to leave. Farewell, Norrom and good luck on your journey." The three boys said their last farewells and rode out of town to the adventure that awaits them.