Mr. Dove and the Pipes of Creation

**davedove** · 6th October 10, 07:49 AM

Scene 55

“Oh, Gerald, how could you do it? You know how dangerous it is for you,” Father Trefor asked the young man.

I could hear the weariness in the young man’s voice as he answered. “I had to Father. I had to protect him,” he said as he pointed straight to me.

As felt all eyes on me as Father Trefor spoke again. “What do you mean, Gerald? Why must you protect him?”

“It’s what Sister Anne told me, that I had to help him.”

“Sister Anne?” I asked.

“A missionary nun,” Trefor explained. “She travels the land helping those who fight against the darkness. It is said that she has a deeper knowledge of how the world works, that she can detect those with power and special gifts.”

“Like you,” I said.

“Yes,” he agreed, “and Father David. She was the one who brought Gerald to me so that I could help him with his curse.” He again addressed Gerald. “When did she tell you this, my boy, during her last visit?”

“Yes, when she was here a few days ago, she told me that I should watch for one named Dove. She said that the world depended on his survival.”

Father Trefor looked at me with questioning eyes. “What does he mean?”

“I am not just a traveler,” I confided, “as you may have guessed. I am not from your world, nor are any of my companions. I have been sent on a quest to stop someone who seeks to bring all the worlds under his control. A group, which may have contained your own Sister Anne, called on me to do this, just as they contacted each of my companions. Just as it seems they have now contacted young Gerald here.”

“But why him?” Trefor asked. “He’s so young, and his curse is dangerous, hard to control.”

“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I only know that he has the ability to help me. That is why he was chosen.”

“I can do it Father,” Gerald protested. “I have to do it.”

Trefor nodded his head sadly. “I know, my boy. Sometimes Sister Anne is mysterious, but she is always on the side of good.”

I reached down to help Gerald to his feet. “Thank you for saving us from the Baron,” I said to him.

Worry crossed his face and he jerked his head back to look at the tower. “The Baron!” he said with alarm. “We must go now. His wounds won’t keep him down long.”

An inhuman howl coming from the tower let us know just how little time we had.

**Livingston** · 8th October 10, 10:50 AM

Keep them coming Dave, I know I'm not the only one keeping any eye on this entertaining thread.

**ohiopiper** · 8th October 10, 09:49 PM

Oh no, not the only one by far.

**EHCAlum** · 9th October 10, 06:34 AM

Most entertaining. I'm also recognizing some classic works of fiction in this prose. Correct me if I'm wrong, but did you also reference the Wizard of Earthsea?

**ohiopiper** · 9th October 10, 09:47 PM

That's the thing about good fiction writing. There are only so many basic plots. A good writer can weave a lot of familiar elements into a story without being boring, predictable or outright plagerism. Take a work like The Lord of the Rings. It has elements of many myths and legends in it, but is different enough to be unique and stand as a major litterary work in its own right.

Mr Dove has the gift of doing this, weaving ideas familiar because they are the stuff of all good stories, but in a way that is different enough from other stories to make it entertaining.

Me, the most creative I get is immitating voices when I read to my kids. I've not got much immagination, so I appreciate others creativity.

I have sometimes thought of a fiction series I read in High School many years ago while reading this story. It was about a man who had leprosy and was sometimes whisked away to another world where his disease made him immune to the powers of an evil force there and he became the only thing able to stand against an evil sorcerer. Familiar plot line, unique and immaginative delivery. Wish I could remember the name of the series.

BTW, I did also enjoy Ursula K. LeGuinns stuff, to include A Wizzard of EarthSea.

**Jock Scot** · 9th October 10, 10:00 PM

The only thing that is predictable in Mr Dove's stories is that Mr Livingston gets covered in bandages by the end of the story. He (Mr L.) seems to attract sharp pointy things with consummate ease, apart from falling off cliffs, bumping his head on a chunk of wood and slipping on the bath mat, that is.