Ascent-

Now transformed and secretly renamed, the boy was commissioned by The Sword to begin his arduous ascent up the Mountain, which was out and upwards of the valley. Many people of The Mountain asked where the boy was going. So he told them,

"I am going to Throne Room Bloom."

Some wanted to go where he was going, but others scoffed. Some people walked a little while with him but then became too tired and fell asleep. Others continued up the Mountain, all the way to the very top, though some of them incurred injuries along the way. The ones that continued up the mountain decided to call themselves 'Resurrectionists'. The Sword smiled upon this decision to thus be named and He built a fortress for them to hide at the very peak.

Upon arriving at the peak of the Mountain, one of the Resurrectionist’s injuries became to heal right before their eyes and they were all filled with awe as they realized that they were near Throne Room Bloom. The boy had told them stories of how the air in Throne Room Bloom had given him new skin. They all remembered the story as one from the group began to see new skin grow over his wound. Some trembled and some cried. Some shouted with joy when seeing it.

“The air is like a heartbeat here,” one said.

“My skin is glowing and isn’t bleeding anymore!,” another exclaimed.

Other people did not say a word. They couldn’t.
They trembled and were full of wonder at the knowledge they were so close.

The Evil heard their shouts and cries from the valley and realized where the boy and the others had journeyed. Full of crippling anger, The Evil flew up the Mountain to murder the boy and the others once and for all. As he approached the peak, The Evil drew his own sword to slay the Resurrectionists. The Evil's sword had a glow that entranced the boy for a moment. And though the boy stood still and confident against the Evil, his eyes were full of fear and remorse as he remembered the valley and how it glowed. He could remember the wounds for a moment. But they were as a dream, and the boy was not sure if they were real or not. The Evil continued to let his sword glow over the boy.

“You are not new,” hissed The Evil over the boy, “You are of the Valley. You do not belong in Throne Room Bloom.”

“I… I…”, the boy could not speak and his tongue stammered as in the days of the valley. His eye began to faintly glow the same glow as the Evil’s sword.

The Evil whispered maliciously, “I know Throne Room Bloom. I have been there. I AM the Army General of Throne Room Bloom, not The Sword. Throne Room Bloom isn’t up there, it’s down here in the Valley, don’t you see? It glowsss.”

From the Mountain top, the boy could see the valley glowing from afar, but it was only because his eyes were entranced from The Evil’s sword. Everything seemed upside down. As if up was down and down was up.

Then out of seeming nowhere, The Sword let out a victorious shout that shredded the sky, thus opening the gate to Throne Room Bloom! The air of Throne Room Bloom was fully mixed with the air of the Mountain and it commenced a violent storm in the expanse around the Mountain. The Resurrectionists shouted with joy and chanted war cries and exclaimed in different languages that were unknown to The Mountain.

“The Sword! The Sword! The Sword!”, they all cried.

Some of the Resurrectionists drew their daggers against The Evil. The number of them was so great that The Evil began to be disoriented, like a drunkard. He stumbled about as if there was no up or down. But at once, The Sword thundered down from above the Mountain top! He split the sky and reflected the sun so violently, that the The Evil was blinded and fell all the way down the Mountain, into the Pit.

“…..I AM NEWLY NAMED!”, shouted the boy as his tongue was loosed. He raised his dagger high.

The Evil shrieked in cowardice as its glow darkened into nothing. The Pit consumed him and engulfed his body in flames. The Resurrectionists shouted with fierce joy and strength as they beat their breasts in victory against The Evil,

“THE SWORD! THE SWORD! THE SWORD!”, they roared.

The Pit was a rotten place, lower than the valley, and had only been rumored until that moment. Some had said that it was a place that you can never escape. Others had said that it wasn't real. But from the peak, the boy noticed that the ones that had scoffed on the Mountain had fallen into The Pit as well. They had not attempted to see Throne Room Bloom, and it made those of Throne Room Bloom very sad. The Resurrectionists had a mixture of joy and tears as they saw it all unfold that day. And as The Sword joined them in crying over the loss of the scoffers, He came and comforted the Resurrectionists. His view was always higher, since he could see everything below and around him.

As The Sword dried their tears, at that very moment, The Mountain and Throne Room Bloom became one territory. They called it The New Territory. The Sword remained the Army General of this New Territory and The Resurrectionists owned and tended to the land. There was no threat of The Evil anymore, so that the whole land was full of joy and peace. The air was a heartbeat and the people made music to the tempo that was all around them. Even the trees and waters did dances.

“I used to be tortured in the valley, but now I have new skin,“ the boy quietly murmured to himself as he stared at The Sword, who was sitting at the peak of The New Territory. The smoke billowing upwards reminded him of the valley, yet he could no more recall what it was like there. So he put his dagger back into its sheath and met The Sword where he was sitting.

And as the boy, The Resurrectionists and The Sword sat there in The New Territory, the sun was never darkened again and the Resurrectionists were never touched by The Evil. Everyone from The Mountain would remember the day the Throne Room Bloomed.


THRONE ROOM BLOOM
by Taylor Turner