Episode Fourteen: The Mirror

Shuka ran into the statue as quick as she could to catch Dodo before he went through the doorway, but she was too late. Dodo barely heard her as he strapped the partial medallion around his neck, pushed the ancient door open, and stepped into the darkness. As Shuka approached the doorway, Dodo let go of the door to turn around, and it slammed shut!

It was completely dark beyond the door. He could hear the howling of wind blowing. He had no idea what was around him, and didn't know if it was safe to move. For a while Dodo just stood still and listened.

Shuka turned around and in tears, she walked back out of the statue. The Elders surrounded her and comforted her. "He has to go through this," said Tarik, the chief Elder, "it is the only way for him to pass through. Was he wearing the medallion?" Shuka nodded.

"But he doesn't have the entire medallion!" worried Amaca. "He can't make it through without the entire medallion... can he?" The Elders knew that once the owner of the medallion put it on, he, or she, would have to face himself in order to become leader. The opening behind the Gong was carved out by the people of the Northern City. They didn't know why, but each leader eventually ends up there. Some never come out. They decided that the only help they could offer would be to occasionally ring the Gong.

Dodo held out his hands and tried to feel his way through the dark enclosure. After a few steps he found a wall. Inches away he came upon a flat smooth surface. He pressed his hand against it and the medallion began to glow. It was a mirror and Dodo saw himself. The image faded away and he saw Lakia. He saw that she had a piece of the medallion around her neck and was heading straight into the ocean. Dodo suddenly felt like he couldn't breathe. Dodo felt his legs grow cold. He was standing in water and it was quickly rising. A vial floated over to him, just within the light of the medallion. He looked closely at the contents trying to determine what color was the fluid inside. But the light was too dim.

The water reached his chest and the howling turned to a whistle. He knew he didn't have much time before the air would run out. Dodo faced the mirror and closed his eyes, "Guiding Hand, have mercy on me. I didn't choose this for myself. Please guide me out of this cavern, and help me lead your villagers." he opened up the vial and drank it. The last of the water came flooding in and filled in the room. Dodo was able to breathe under the water. He opened his eyes and looked into the mirror. Dodo saw Lakia under water also. She was staring at right at him! Then he heard that someone rang the Gong ...

__________________________________

Episode Fifteen: Amazed

As the gong sounded a light flashed brightly in the inner chamber. The gong granted sight and wisdom. Before the light went out, Dodo could see a long narrow corridor leading away from one corner of the inner chamber. He wondered where it led, so he tried to swim out to that end of the chamber.

The next sounding of the gong shook open the door leading into the statue. The flood of water washed the young doctor out of the inner chamber and washed him right up against the gong facing that door. The water washed out onto the grass outside the gong's statue, and all the flowers there suddenly bloomed.

Dodo looked up as the door slammed shut again. He saw writing on the inside of the gong wall. They were directions. There was a little poem written about a capital city and the roadways to get there. There were instructions on how to build something called a boat, and where to sail in order to get to certain places in the Isolan area.

When Dodo came out from behind the gong, he found the villagers staring at him, again. They jumped up and down when he came out. With all the water, they were almost certain that the esteemed doctor and scientist had drown, so they were very happy to find that their new leader had survived. Dodo looked back inside and the words were gone.

The Elders pulled Dodo back out and wanted to talk to him about a ceremony to introduce him as Leader. But Dodo suddenly remembered that he never found out who had been in the inner room before him. All he could think about was whether he should hurry back in...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *