The Diary of Zartoon

ENTRY 21

ENTRY 21

01.04.63.18.52

That was one hell of a sleep. I could hear thunder in the distance and believe it or not I was still feeling completely relaxed.

The towers were now crystal clear. They looked like I could reach out and touch them, but I knew I had another few hours to go. I spent the morning relaxing and eating, before getting back on my ride and starting off.

The day was cool, especially for being in the middle of the desert. I once again saw several "birds" flying overhead. I swear that at least a dozen of them were as big as the old Jets they had on Earth. They didn't seem interested in me in the least. It almost looked as if they were all migrating toward the castle. I don't understand why, but that was where they were headed.

It took me just about six hours to make it to the front of the main gate, which was made of a light blue crystal, or rather, hundreds of light blue crystals.

I left my ride, tying its harness to a small log beside the gate. The gate looked massive, but it swung easily and didn't seem to have any weight on it at all. When I walked in, my mouth dropped in awe. The entire inside of the castle was lined with the same crystals as the gate, and hanging from the ceiling was a magnificent white dragon. Its size was beyond anything anyone could ever imagine, and it was surrounded by smaller dragons.

While I stood there and looked around, taking in everything that I could, a young woman walked in behind me, she had jet black hair and eyes, but her skin was the color of the finest ivory. "Who are you and what are you doing here," she asked. Her voice was sweet, yet had a kind of strength to it that no Earth woman ever had.

"My name is Williams, I was sent here on a quest to retrieve a white sword," I said.

The minute I finished the answer, the woman was surrounded by hundreds of spirits. "The white sword is not allowed to be touched," she said in a much firmer, less sweet voice. "You must leave now, or you will be killed." I kind of believed that she meant what she said, then she continued. "This has been the law for millions of trips around the sun." The thing was, she wasn't looking at me. I swear that she was looking through me.

"May I ask your name," I asked.

She looked straight at me. "There have been many before you, and all have died trying to steal the sword."

"That's nice to know," I said with a laugh. I had suddenly figured out that she wasn't "real." She was some kind of hologram, but I was sure that the spirits were real. I didn't think much; I just opened the gate again and went outside. Setting up camp was easy, my sleeping bag and lantern and I settled in for the night. I would gain all my strength back after my journey. Then, with a clear head in the morning I would figure out what to do to retrieve the white sword, and once it was in my possession, help save the people of Zartoon.