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Ulbythia
a story of true love
Original story and illustrations by John Raddatz
These books document the adventures of Mognik in a previous life in a previous time. There is no substantial evidence to prove to you that these events actually happened. I will try to the best of my abilities to recall the experiences as they were told to me by Medar. This tale has 7 short books. Each one is told from a different identitys viewpoint. Thus the journey begins .....
Ulbythia - An island that still exists today . nobody of this world has ever found it in their lifetime!
Original story and illustrations by John Raddatz
Ulbythia - the introduction
Characters in order of appearance:
Dedicated to True Love
Ulbythia - the introduction
These books document the adventures of Mognik in a previous life in a previous time. There is no substantial evidence to prove to you that these events actually happened. I will try to the best of my abilities to recall the experiences as they were told to me by Medar. This tale has 7 books. Each one is told from a different identity"s viewpoint. Thus the journey begins .....
Mognik - the beginning
It was a beautiful spring day for a young man such as myself. I had arose early that day to go down to the lake to test my fishing skills. The sun was brightly beaming against the blue sky overhead. The reflection on the waters of Lake Noggol was a surreal sight. I could hear the birds singing their haunting melody in the forest behind me. It was on that day that I first met Leazh. Leazh appeared on the shoreline that morning, her long red hair blowing in the breeze. She had penetrating lime-green eyes that dug into my young heart. We laughed and talked all that day. When evening came, she promised to return tomorrow. All that night, all I could think about was Leazh. I somehow felt that I had known Leazh all of my life, although we had just met.
Every morning Leazh would suddenly appear, just as the day before, and the day before that. When I asked her where she lived, all she did is smile. She would always materialize walking down the shoreline, as if magic. One day while we were walking barefoot along the waters edge picking up shells, we found a baby turtle. The turtle had a brilliant golden shell. We painted our names on the turtle's shell that day. After we had finished putting our names on the turtle, Leazh looked into my eyes and kissed me tenderly on my lips. This was my first kiss from Leazh. It made my heart tingle with a warm feeling. From that moment on, I knew that Leazh was the women that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.
Susth - the teacher
I first met Mognik and his dog Rodola at the end of the following summer after he had met Leazh. His eyes showed the pain that was in his heart. He thought that he would never see Leazh again. One day while walking, we were attacked by a pack of wild wolves. I found shelter up in a tree, but Mognik and Rodola were savagely ripped apart. It tugged at my heart to watch such a violent action that I had no control to stop. Mognik was quite muscular and he would stand a fair chance against the pack. Mognik did survive, but Rodola did not. Such is life, there is always another twist prowling around the corner. Cherish your seconds together while you have them, they may be severed with a twinkling of the eye.
After Mognik was nursed back to health, we traveled to the forest of the talking trees. The tree forest was a great place to contemplate and grow in wisdom. The trees would only converse with you if you were worthy and had a pure heart. Just as I thought that they would, they immediately started talking to Mognik! Wobrin, the king of the trees explained to Mognik that all trees were capable of speaking, but only a few of the trees had actually remembered the ancient art of speaking. Mognik listened intensely. This is the first time that I did not see the pain in his eyes. We would sit on a branch, while Wobrin would tell us stories that had been forgotten and how all life started on Ulbythia.
It was on that Island where Wobrin's grandfather was originally seeded. He told us tales of mystical creatures that live there and protect the island from all trespassers. I took Mognik under my wing and tutored him all the rest of that year. I informed him of one of the key principals of life... for anything and everything that happens in this world in which we live, there is always a reason. There is a time and a place where all things are unveiled. It is a wise individual that understands the path that destiny has chosen for them. I still do not think that Mognik fully understood exactly what that message meant. Or, what the fates had in store for him.
Goltle - the friend
I have spent all my years at lake Noggol. I have not traveled the country and seen the wonders that Mognik has encountered. I remember well the year that Mognik and Leazh did meet. Mognik and Leazh would always share their lunch with me. Afterwards, we would all go for a swim in the warm blue waters. We were all best of friends. It was a happy and carefree time for all of us. Mognik and Leazh were splashing in the lake as I was basking in the sun on the shore. The sun was slowly setting over the lake and the island of Ulbythia was glistening in the distance. I had never been to Ulbythia.
There were legends of mystical appearances by elves and other magical creatures. The story goes that if they saw you, you were held prisoner on the island forever. Not even the bravest of soul dared to step foot on that island. We used to collect shells that would wash upon the shore. Mognik and Leazh made a necklace out of the shiny shells and vowed to always wear them. Summer was ending and we all promised to meet again next summer. Next summer came, but Leazh did not. Mognik would sit sadly on a rock and stare out into the waters. In his heart, he felt as if Leazh and himself should have been together always. Everyday we waited for his best friend to return, but she never appeared.
Little did we know that Leazh was just across the lake on the island of Ulbythia. One day, while sitting on the shore, a huge storm suddenly came up and swept Mognik into the waters. Lucky for him that I was there, as I rescued Mognik from the fierce waves and returned him safely to land. That was the last time that I saw my friend Mognik. Just like the waters of Lake Noggol wash little treasures to shore, life brings its own treasures to us all .... to be remembered forever. These memories will always exist. They will never be removed from the book of life.
Zaddor - the prophecy
One day, while Mognik was searching the jungles of Geljun for his cherished Leazh, he stumbled upon my secluded cave. Mognik entered my cave and could see that someone, or something, had been living there! He saw my bed made of straw and my lantern setting on the wooden table. He did not see me at this time, as I made myself invisible. I am a fairly large man with an extraordinary amount of hair, all over my body. I did not want to scare him, as some people think that I am a wild animal. He then left my dwelling. I did not see him again for 2 weeks.
The leaves were starting to fall now. The autumn colors were starting to shine. Mognik again wandered into my domain. He had been severely bitten by a deadly snake and was suffering greatly. He came crawling into my cave to seek death, but that was not to be. My wife, Bazile, and myself tended to his physical needs as he was recovering. Bazile would hand feed Mognik like a little baby. Mognik would have died that day if Bazile has not given him another life. It was not his time yet, or so we thought.
Bazile is only part human. She is a member of the Peactpleo race, they are part cat. Peactpleos have more than one life. They can use and give their remaining life time for any reason that they desire. Bazile has a slender figure and long black hair. Her skin is multi colored and hairy, just like a calico. She also has a tail and whiskers. That is why we chose to live, hidden away in the jungle of Geljun. Most human people do not take kindly to Bazile and her kind. They think that all of the Peactpleo people are a lower life form. They do not understand that all people are the same, no matter how they look or how they originated. I pray for the day when all creatures can live in harmony as one.
After Mognik was healed, I explained that I was Zaddor, the great prophet. We talked for many hours before I told him that he would meet Leazh again. He asked me when he would see Leazh and how I knew, but I was not at liberty to tell him any details. I was visited by an angel, and she had told me not to tell Mognik any other details except that he would see his Leazh again sometime, somewhere.
When Mognik parted our company, I presented him an enchanted ring. He would need the ring very soon if he was to find his lost Leazh. He was instructed to always wear it, and never take it off.
Niffen - the seahorse
It was that same summer that Mognik and Leazh first met that I noticed those two frolicking on the shores of Lake Noggol. Those two reminded me of a couple of young puppies always getting into mischief and having so much fun. I just observed them from afar. They had no idea that they had an audience. Let me tell you a little bit about myself before I continue with the story. My name is Niffen. My species have always lived here by Lake Noggol. We are last of our lost breed, magical seahorses. Magical seahorses are invisible to humans. They can not see or hear us, for we co-exist with them on a different level.
One evening, under a full harvest moon, Mognik was at the shore remembering Leazh and all the good times that they had together. He was rubbing the ring that Zaddor had given to him and recalling his precious moments with his lost Leazh. He did not know that the ring would openthe portal to another place, to my world. I startled him, by talking to him. I knew who he was looking for. I asked him if he was willing to go to Ulbythia and search the island for his missing Leazh. Of course, his instant response was no. But he changed his mind when I showed him the necklace that he had made for his past friend Leazh. I had found the necklace in the waters off the shores of Ulbythia. Mognik jumped up upon my back and I carried him off towards the shores of the island of Ulbythia. But somehow Mognik mysteriously fell off my back in the middle of lake Noggol. I have not seen him since. I hope that he finds his true love.
Acissia - the angel
It was a misty dawn when Mognik first arrived on Ulbythia. The waves were gently splashing on the shore creating a soothing melody. Mognik crawled out of the water and on to the shore. After he rested, for he nearly drowned, he started down the thick path to the woods. In the clearing ahead he could see the big castle with roses that surrounded the castle. They were growing on the castle's stone walls as if guarding its secrets from all trespassers. No matter how many times Mognik circled the castle, he could not find any entrances. He tried to climb the walls, but could not because of the huge rose thorns. He sadly turned around and headed back in disappointment. He stopped by the well to draw a drink from the cool underground waters. It is then and there, that I made myself known to Mognik.
I explained that I was Acissia, the angel of Ulbythia. It is my responsibility to maintain balance between the underworld and here ontop of Ulbythia. I knew why he has here and I could help him find his lost Leazh. He first must venture down the well and follow the under ground spring to the Ulbythia underworld to find a magic key that would unlock any door, in any dimension. I warned him about Yastnaf, the evil monster that controlled the underworld. I told Mognik that my spirit would be with him on his journey.
Mognik climbed down the well and followed the stream to the bank of the under ground shore. It was a different world down there. The Ulbythia underground had no sky or no sun. It was a dark and gloomy place. There was the smell of burning sulfur in the air. He set upon his quest to find the key. Up ahead, he could see Yastnaf. The key that he needed to find was behind Yastnaf in a golden box.
Yastnaf - The monster
Yastnaf was indeed quite horrid. His body was murky green and he had two big yellow eyes. He had the body of a cobra with huge horns sprouting from his head, with human arms and legs, and a long snake tail. I remember the fear that was in Mognik's eyes as he approached Yastnaf. Yastnaf spotted Mognik instantly. His amber eyes turned to bright red as he moved towards Mognik. Mognik tried to dodge Yastnaf, but he could not. It was then that the monster Yastnaf swiped Mognik viciously across the chest.
Mognik was laying beneath me with his blood flowing from his wounded heart. He could see my image floating above his head. He reached up to touch me. I smiled and grasped his hand. I then transferred Mognik from the Ulybuthia underworld to the world above.
Leazh- the reunion
I have been living on Ulbythia for along time. It is here in this big beautiful stone castle with beautiful roses surrounding it, where I have spent the last years of my life. I walk through the woods and gaze out over Lake Noggol and wonder what happened to Mognik with his light brown shoulder length hair and soothing grey eyes. Everything that I could possibly want was somehow magically supplied to me here. Everything except my Mognik. I long to hear his voice, if only for one brief moment.
Acissia appeared to me one day as I was walking along the shore. I have never before seen Acissia. She had blond hair and blue eyes that were as deep as the ocean. When she smiled, a warm feeling could be felt in my soul. She also had pure white wings, like a heavenly dove. She spoke softly as she asked me to follow her. I followed Acissia as she glided through the woods. There at the well, was Mognik. He appeared to be dead. The tears flowed from my heart. I knelt down next to my beloved Mognik and kissed his lips. His eyes opened. He was NOT dead, but very weak!
It was not until a few days after finding Mognik that he spoke. Rodola would lay quietly at his feet awaiting his masters voice. Mognik smiled and said that he had missed me and had been searching for me since that day when we were last together on the mainland. We both cried as we hugged each other. Rodola jumped upon him and licked him all over. Rodola had suddenly appeared on the Ulbythia shore one morning a few years back.
It was the next day that Mognik realized that Rodola had departed years before. He asked how that was possible that his dog was alive and well here on Ulbythia. If Rodola had died, did that mean that Mognik and even myself were not living anymore? I told him how I had been swept into the ocean at that summer's end that we first met and ever since then had been living on Ulbythia. It was not until then that we realized that we did not exist as we once did anymore.
We walked down to the shore, hand and hand, with Rodola following us. The sun was setting over Lake Noggol. It was a beautiful site. In the blue waters was a giant turtle with our names on his shell, it was Gotle, our old friend. We sat down on the sand and watched Gotle's golden shell shine in the distance as the sun slowly set over the horizon.
Medra - the conclusion
Ulbythia .... it was not of their former world and yet it was. Ulbythia shares the same time and space yet exists in different universe. It is here where Mognik and Leazh will finish eternity together - forever. As two hearts find each other, they shall also be bonded, until the end of creation. True love is always a destiny, never a chance, it can not be separated by anything, including death. Destiny will always find a way to embrace itself in the ever-after. There is great happiness awaiting us all, here on the island of Ulbythia.
The End ........ just the beginning for Mognik and Leazh!
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Ulbythia © Copyright 1998-2023 John Raddatz (formally SoftBear Shareware LLC)
Ulbythia is © Copyright in digital format with The Library of Congress