Reality's Fire is Here!

The Reality Chronicles trilogy comes to a close with the advent of the final book, Reality's Fire.

As of today, the paperback has made its appearance on Amazon, though it is still in process as the cover image isn't up as of this writing. And there are no copies yet to sell, however, you can pre-order and Amazon will ship them when they come in. Additionally, there is the Kindle version for the ebook lovers. In the next few days, expect to see the book appear at B&N both paperback and for Nook, as well as it is currently available at Smashwords in formats that can be read by most any ereader out there.

For more information on the book, you can visit my page which gives you the book's blurb, a sample chapter, and links to where you can buy it.

I thought this would be a good time to give some behind the scenes look at this series. I've told some of this on other sites, in interviews, but I'll go a little deeper here.

The Reality Chronicles series isn't an allegory proper, but does have some allegorical elements to it. Unlike some stories, God is simply God, not some strange name in this alternate world. But certain things do represent other things in an allegorical manner. For instance, as I've written on this blog before, the steam house is an eight-sided building. For history buffs, this represents the baptismal font, which in the early church, was eight-sided representing the eighth day of creation brought on by Jesus Christ's death and resurrection.

And some might complain that Jesus is never mentioned in the books. And that would be true, and yet He is on nearly every page and story. He forms the backdrop for all that takes place, and is present in the climax of Reality's Fire. And that is the beauty of allegory. It not only indicates that something stands for something else (Jesus is the vine, we are the branches), but what the relationship between the two are based on the relationship of the known. (All branches are one in the vine, and so we are one in Christ.) So the allegorical elements in this story, some obvious, some not so obvious, show a relational revealing more than they show a ontological revealing.

But even every relationship in an allegory doesn't translate. Saying Jesus is the vine and we are the branches doesn't mean if the locus come along and eat at us, that Jesus is powerless to stop them, just as a vine would be powerless to stop an insect from eating at its leaves. But where it is an intended relationship, sometimes such things can make us see areas of our lives in relation to each other and God in a new light. Those without ears to hear, will just hear a good story. Which is fine too. Even those can show some good things to us.

So it is in that vein that I started out writing a little short story in the summer of 2006 which I called "Steamy Realities," and is the current first chapter in Reality's Dawn called, "Reality's Advent." In the critique group I was a part of, we did a group challenge, where all of us wrote a short story to submit to a magazine's contest that had the theme of "hot." Thus the idea for using a steam house. And my initial idea is it reflected a precursor to what God's presence would reveal in people on Judgement Day, where every man's work is revealed by fire. And that fire is God's presence itself, as Scripture states multiple times. Not fire as we know it, no doubt, but similar. Except those in Christ experience Him as light and love, while those who don't experience Him as the fires of Hell.

So you see that theme presented in multiple ways through these stories and is the "reality" that is being referenced: God's reality. And so these three books represent a miniature retelling of the Gospel narrative itself in concepts as we all go through it. Reality's Dawn, a person's birth and growth in Christ. Reality's Ascent, the continued growth and revealing that we fight not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, powers, and darkness. And Reality's Fire, the culmination of what Christ accomplished in His battle with Satan, and how He overcame Him.

That first short story was picked up by "The Sword Review" online magazine, which eventually merged with "Dragons, Knights, and Angels" magazine to form what is now "Mindflights." The same magazine decided to run a contest with the theme of "hope." And in deciding what to do for it, I decided to create a sequel short story, currently titled "Anger's Spell" in Reality's Dawn. I entered it into the contest. It didn't win, and they didn't want it for publication, but the owner of the magazine, Bill Snodgrass, took a liking to what I was doing and wanted to encourage me. So he went to the trouble to do a detailed critique of that story in the hopes I would rewrite it and give it another go.

I decided to do more than that. I not only rewrote that story, but I wrote two more stories so that I would have stories based on the themes of faith, hope, and love. The faith story is "Faith's Fire" and the love story is "Love's Sacrifice." With each story I created, the world grew. And when I submitted all of them to the magazine, they accepted the faith and love stories right away, but wanted a rewrite on the hope story. In going through that story, yet again, it dawned on me why it wasn't working. I had my protagonist too passive through the whole thing. Everything was happening to him, but he did little to make things happen. So, I rewrote that chapter to make Sisko do something to affect the outcome, and it was immediately accepted. They accepted those in January of 2007 to run all four stories as a series in the last months of 2007, right before it merged with "Dragons, Knights, and Angels" to become "Mindflights."

But that was not all. Bill Snodgrass liked the stories enough, he wanted to put them into a book to sell through his company. I wrote an additional story to add to it as a "bonus" story not shown online, called "Desire's Trap" in Reality's Dawn, as well as an article on why I write fiction as a Christian, and by November of 2007 he published my first book. The novella we titled Infinite Realities hit the virtual selves of Amazon and other online retail outlets.

As the novella was coming out that November, I did my second National Novel Writing Month, where people from all over the world get together and encourage each other to write a minimum of 50K words of a novel. I started doing that in 2006, and did them every year except for last year, 2011, I ended up doing something different after a week into it. But in 2007, I had outlined a novel I wanted to write in November, but Bill put a bug in my ear about doing a sequel to Infinite Realities instead. At first I didn't think I would do it, as I had what I wanted to do planned out. But then on the first day of November, I made a quick decision to write that sequel, and spent the first hours of the month doing a quick outline of main plot points for the novel, and then jumped in to write it. I spent all of 2008 editing that book, and it ended up getting published as Transforming Realities in March of 2009.

Well, I was on a roll, and so when November arrived in 2008, I wrote the third novel in the series, which after many edits and look overs by various people and going through several names, is now the story being published this month through Splashdown Books as Reality's Fire.

What happened to Bill? Well, by the time I got Transforming Realities published, and went through edits of the third novel in hopes it could come out in 2010, Bill's life took a different turn, and it ended up that his company shut down. So I ended up with a two-book series, and a third book without a publisher. As 2010 headed toward November, I thought I had a publisher, signed a contract, but he backed out at the last minute for personal reasons. So I was back to square one.

But one of the things I had decided to do in September of 2010, was to write more stories to fill in the holes in Infinite Realities. The only big criticism I got was the book was too short. Everyone wanted more. Bill had even prodded me to do that at one point. In September of 2010, I got the itch to do just that. I planned out how many more stories I would need to make a full novel, snagged me a critique partner with the time, and started working on writing those stories at the pace of one a week. I planned to expand the original five stories to a total of fifteen. I had already written one story as a Christmas story the previous Christmas, so I only needed nine more stories. I was in the writing groove, and cranked out one good story after another. I kept thinking at any point, I'll run out of ideas of what to do next that is decently original and interesting, and builds on the character and plot arcs I had in mind. But no sooner would I finish one story, and start thinking about what to do for the next one, than an idea would pop into my head and I'd be off writing the next one. I was even able to fill in some back story for characters and events that appeared in the second book, Transforming Realities, and the third book, which I'd already written at the time, but not yet published.

It was shortly after November's National Novel Writing Month of 2010 that I barely made it to 50K because I was already worn out doing the equivalent of a NaNo with the new stories for Infinite Realities during October, that Grace Bridges with Splashdown Books, after some discussion, agreed not only to take on publishing my third novel, but to republish my first two books, and the first with the added stories. She moved fast on the first two. She published the new and improved Infinite Realities as Reality's Dawn, and republished Transforming Realities as Reality's Ascent in March 2011 and May 2011 respectively. And now the third book is finally coming out in June of 2012: Reality's Fire. Now for the first time, readers who've enjoyed the first two books, can discover how the series ends.

Some interesting notes on this novel. It is unique in several ways. In most of my novels, my outlines are rough major plot point outlines. And what has happened in most of my novels, is by the time I get to the "end" I had planned, I've only written half a novel. For instance, in Reality's Ascent, my original outline had the wedding of Nathan to Crystal being the big block-buster ending. But by the time I reached that spot, not feeling I could extend it any longer without it looking like that's what I was doing, I had only written around 25K words. Far from a full novel. So I made plan B and winged it. And as it turns out, the actual ending I wrote was far better than what I had originally planned. Most of my novels have been like this. The outline gets greatly modified by the time I finish writing the book.

Reality's Fire went nearly exactly as planned. As a matter of fact, unlike my other books where I had a vague idea what the ending would be, and by the time I got there it looked nothing like it, my first realization of what this book would be was the ending. In a hotel room at FenCon in 2008, with Bill sleeping away, I saw in my mind the perfect ending to the series. It fit the theological and series arc, and was exactly what needed to happen. And better yet, few would see it coming, even though it would be logical once they saw what happened, with everything else that had happened to that point through the whole series, even beginning with that first short story I wrote in the summer of 2006. It was like this story simply could not end any other way.

As I wrote this book in November of 2008, it went exactly as planned. Didn't missed a beat, nothing unexpected. Well. Almost. There was one crazy wrench Gabrielle threw into the story. Without giving anything away, at one point, based on what she could do, and Josh's condition, as I was writing what I figured she'd naturally be thinking, it suddenly occurred to her she could do something unusual. And as a writer, I couldn't deny her doing that because it wouldn't be natural for her to do anything else but what she did. And boy did she make a major change to the story. I did not see that one coming. But I worked it into the story as best I could. Not perfect, but it did provide some good story moments, nonetheless. Both drama and humor. It will be obvious when you read it.

But all the while I was writing the story, my mind kept running over and over how the end would go. I was glad when I finally got to write it, because then I could get the visions out of my head and on paper, and they wouldn't keep me up at night. As a matter of fact, by the time I started writing the ending, I didn't have to think about how any of it would go, what they would say. I'd been over it so many times in my head, all I was really doing was writing it all down. I've never had a book go almost exactly as planned, and an ending happen just as I envisioned it before I'd decided anything else the book would be about.

Also, this book was a departure in other ways. On one hand, I'd addressed some issues that my YA audience not only face everyday, but often get swallowed up by in many cases. I felt they were important issues, and because of what needed to happen to get to the ending, a big sin needed to happen. So this story has ended up focusing on more mature material. I've kept it PG-13, but it does mean some of the younger readers that enjoyed my first two books, would probably not be allowed to read this one, at least until they'd grown up some. My only regret is that it will potentially exclude younger children from getting to read this anytime soon.

Readers will also notice more romance and character interaction and not as much "action" scenes. They do happen. There is sword fighting. But it isn't as intense as it was in Reality's Ascent, or even Reality's Dawn. But some really cool stuff happens, even if it isn't high action fighting.

And yes, Joel does make some appearances in this book. Not as many as I know his fans would like, but he plays his parts which are critical. As a matter of fact, Joel is the one character that has so far appeared in every book I've written in this world.

So, that's the story behind this book and the whole trilogy. It is something that started out as one short story, and grew from there into a full world. But the stories don't stop with this book. I'm writing a spin-off series in the same world, that not only expands that world, but reveals how it relates to our own world. This series builds upon the dragon in "Faith's Fire" in Reality's Dawn to reveal a whole dragon culture in that world. So much more to come. Stay tuned!

Reality's Dawn Dating Game

Author Ralene Burke runs a Character Tour on her blog, and I was invited to submit something. Deciding to do something a bit different than the standard character interview, I took four of my characters and put them into the Dating Game.

Enjoyed having fun with the characters. :)

Reality's Dawn Dating Game

Pre-order Reality's Ascent through B&N

That's right, the first sighting of the new book, Reality's Ascent, has been spotted. Once again, Barnes and Noble shows the book up first. If they are your preferred book vendor of choice, don't delay, go order today, so as soon as it is released, a copy will be on its way!

Reality's Ascent is a reprinting by Splashdown Books of Transforming Realities originally published by Double-Edged Publishing. The new version sports a snazzy new cover, and a few formatting, typos, grammar, and continuity issues were fixed, we pray without introducing new ones. Point being, if you have Transforming Realities, this is essentially the same book. If you don't, now's your chance to grab a copy that is fresh and up-to-date.

Interview with Joel

I figured I would do something a little different and interview one of my favorite characters from my new novel, Reality's Dawn: Joel.

Joel shows up in this book in one story, but makes some major appearances in both Reality's Ascent and Reality's Glory (yet to be published). And he's a unique enough character, I figured it would only do me good to interview him, so the readers get a chance to say hi. So the following is my interview for your enjoyment!

R: Today I'd like to introduce to our readers Joel. Say hi to the folks and tell us a bit about yourself.

J: Hi folks. Thanks, R. L., for the chance to come on here and clear my...I mean, fill everyone in on how I really make this series sing. After all, who else can--

R: Joel, hold on one minute. I didn't say give us a "praise Joel" section. Just tell us something about yourself.

J: Something about myself. Hum. Well, there is the fact I'm the most powerful character in your books. Almost god-like. Note to Creator: I did say god-like, not god! Excuse me, but had to make sure that was clear.

R: Why?

J: He's sort of sensitive about that. Doesn't like it when people step on His toes.

R: Sounds like you know Him quite well. How does that relationship work?

J: Sort of a love-hate. I mean, not that I hate Him, you see, but He can be hard to get along with at times.

R: In what way does He ring your bell?

J: Ring my bell! You don't have my bell, do you! How did you get that?

R: (Laughs) No, I don't have your bell. What are you talking about?

J: As if you didn't know. You're the author, after all. If anyone knows about the bell, it should be you.

R: You got me there. While we're on the subject, tell us about the bell.

J: It's one of the times God wasn't too happy with me. It was a minor thing, really. So, He gives me this bell--

R: Joel, what was the "minor thing"?

J: (Sigh) He wanted me to do something for Him. I couldn't fit it into my schedule is all. I had things to take care of. Important things.

R: What did He need done?

J: Aren't you full of questions today.

R: This is an interview. It sort of comes with questions. That's the point.

J: Alright. Like I said, it was a minor thing. He needed me to deliver a message to someone. I put it at the bottom of my to-do list. He didn't think I prioritized it high enough, is all.

R: Who was supposed to get this message?

J: Well, that's the kicker. One of his favorites: Daniel. After several days had passed and He wanted to know why Daniel was still praying by the river the same prayer, He came looking for me. Got all hot under the collar--not that God has a collar, mind you, just a figure of speech--and said something about diluting the effectiveness of the prayer of a righteous man availth much guarantee. Complained He'd have to send one of his angels before the poor guy gave up waiting.

R: Wow. Sounds serious. What did you say?

J: That's what got me the bell. I said, "Whatever." I found out you don't say, "whatever" when God wants you to do something. But, you know, he could have asked a little nicer. I would have scooted it up the priority ladder if I'd known it was so important to Him.

R: I suppose He expects it to be a priority by default.  So, what was so bad about the bell?

J: You know where the phrase, "he rung my bell" came from? (Shakes head) That's right. From me. He linked me with a bell, and gave it to someone. When they rang it, no matter where I was or what I was doing, I was transported there and they would ask me for favors.

R: You mean, like a genie granting three wishes?

J: Similar, but no end to the request as long as they had the bell. If I refused, they'd simply keep pulling me back. If I wanted any peace, I'd have to grant them their wishes. Very annoying. So the one who had the bell before Sisko came along, he rang my bell one too many times. While he slept, I snatched it and took it deep into the mountains where very few if any ever traveled, and hid it in a cave.

R: And Sisko somehow found it?

J: Not immediately, but yes. (Points to the sky) I think He had something to do with that. But I met Sisko, and even though I was a most powerful being, like everyone else whose path he came across, I was changed. But that gets into the story.

R: Now, maybe we should clear up one other thing. Some have speculated that you're an angel. Are you?

J: (Turns his back toward R. L.) Do you see any wings back there?

R: Come on. Everyone knows those are symbolic to mean a messenger, which apparently you were delivering messages, where you not?

J: Hey, God does outsource, you know. What do you think all those prophets did? Deliver messages. Besides, you should see the cherubim when they start training to fly. They have those wings covering their face so they can't see where they are going, and another set covering their feet so they can't land without falling over. Watching them makes for a very entertaining evening. But, no wings for me.

R: Okay, on that note, I think we'll end this interview. Thanks Joel for spending time with us today. Maybe we'll have you back to find out about your tea. I hear it is heavenly.

J: You're welcome. And it is heavenly. I only give it to those that need it. But some things can't be revealed. I work under restrictions.

R: Maybe you can start a bell choir.

J: (Shutters) Not in this life. Bye.

That's it folks. He's vanished. Until next time.

Don't-miss-it sale on Infinite Realities!

In anticipation of the new updated and expanded version of Infinite Realities coming out on March 1st, Reality's Dawn, I'm putting my Infinite Realities ebook at the lowest cost possible: FREE! But Amazon won't let me make it any lower than $0.99, so if you want it on that through Amazon, you'll have to cough up a dollar.

You can find it for free through the rest of this month at my two ebook stores:

http://store.rlcopple.com

http://www.rlcopple.com/bookstore.php

And at Smashwords

And for $0.99 at Amazon

Reality's Dawn, the new book coming out March 1, 2011, adds ten more outstanding short stories to this collection of five to make a full fifteen-storied, braided novel of Sisko's adventures. I'm really excited about these additional stories because they add in so much more depth to Sisko's life, the characters like Josh, Seth, and Joel who also appear later in the series. And they are just plain fun. If you want to know whether to get the new book when it comes out, now's your chance to get a free taste of five stories that will appear in that book, though I will say that the new stories are even better. Still, you can't beat free if you want to consider the new book, Reality's Dawn, for which Splashdown Books, the publisher, is taking pre-orders.

What's With the Hebrew?

For the second installment on the allegories in the Reality series, I wanted to talk more about the ring. Eventually, I'll talk about the allegorical nature of the ring itself, once the final book in the series comes out later this fall, and some time has passed. Meanwhile, there is one aspect of the ring that early on received comments.

For those not familiar, the first chapter/short story in the novella, Infinite Realities, tells how Sisko gains the ring, which as the priest says, marries him to God much as Sampson's hair created a vow between him and God. The ring Sisko gains in the mystical steam house enables him to be his "brother's keeper" by helping others with his new abilities to heal and perform miracles. And like Sampson's warning to never cut his hair, Sisko is told to never use the ring for his own benefit or it will become a curse instead of a blessing.

The words inscribed on the ring, which the priest reads, are the words of Christ, "It is more blessed to give, than to receive." And as the story relates it, these words are inscribed in Hebrew on the ring. That's why you see the Hebrew infinitive forms "to give" and "to receive" printed on the cover of Infinite Realities.

Early on when fellow writers critiqued that first story, someone mentioned the fact that Christ would have said those words in Aramaic or Greek, not likely Hebrew. And though it is entirely possible He could have said them originally in Hebrew, I agree, He probably used one of those two languages. Most likely Aramaic since that was the common tongue at that time in Israel. And I received that comment more than once from different people.

So, why did I use Hebrew? Did I have a reason? Oh yes! I did.

First, the practical consideration. Yes, it is unlikely Jesus used Hebrew when he said those words, and you won't find them exactly like that in the Old Testament, so He wasn't directly quoting Scripture. My response: and your point is...?

Think about the premise of the story here. Jesus isn't talking, rather God inscribed those words on the ring for a reason. He could have used any language in the world. He might have used German, or Swahili. It could have been anything. Because Jesus originally said them in one particular language wouldn't restrict God to use that one language, within the context of the story. So what language Jesus used initially has nothing to do with what language can be on that ring. Using a different one doesn't violate any historical reality. And, need I remind you, this is after all, fiction.

"So, dear author," I can hear you asking, "why did God use Hebrew to inscribe those words?"

Good question. Thanks for asking. In my mind, God chose Sisko to bear that ring. Hebrew is the language of God's chosen people. By using Hebrew, it analogically and allegorically signifies that God chose Sisko to bear the ring and fulfill that mission.

Warning, a bit of a spoiler coming up on Transforming Realities, but I'll be as general as I can to make the point.

Now, let's take this a bit further. In my novel sequel, Transforming Realities, toward the end of the book one of the results for Sisko's son being in the steam house is obtaining an ability, but it also causes him to be dependent upon his sister to both activate it and deactivate it. The first draft of that created some interesting reactions among those critiquing the story. Most didn't like it because they felt it bound the poor lad against his will to the whims of his sister. I think nearly everyone who critiqued it didn't like it.

I did a few things to lessen the negative affect on the reader, created a positive sense that Nathan liked this ability, and had a choice to accept it, though he couldn't reject it without some consequences. And while that helped, I think the general consensus was an uneasy feeling that Kaylee had that much control over him.

But in the end, I left it that way, and it relates to the fact that God chose Sisko to wear the ring above. Because Sisko didn't really have a choice either. God put the ring on him, and he couldn't pull it off. God didn't bother to stop and ask him if he wanted this mission. Yet this ring, as the priest said, married him to God's will in this matter.

No one balked at that situation. Why? I think it's because in Sisko's case, he is bound to God. In Nathan's case, he is bound to a human, his sister. And our reaction to that tends to run deep, especially in our individualistic society. We don't want to be dependent upon anyone, and rugged individualism is most often seen as a good thing. To have someone be put under the control of another hits our image of independence right where it hurts. We would rather not be forced to deal with that.

Before someone accuses me otherwise, let me say I'm not excusing one's responsibility to do for themselves what they can, and help out each other as often as we can. But the truth of the matter is that each of us is enslaved to another in one form or fashion, and according to the Bible, we are required to live out our lives by loving one another. And what is love but the total giving of ourselves for another person? Is it not enslaving ourselves to them? Is it not martyrdom of our lives to benefit another?

"But that's a willing enslavement," you might say. Hum, you think? Once you say "I do," it's supposed to be for life, and yet frequently isn't. A boss tells you what to do and how to do it. You are forced to do so if you want to make enough money to live. You may not even do that out of love. And yet, all labor is a form of slavery. Some freer to come and go as they please, but you give hours of your life to benefit another so you can feed and put a roof over yourself and maybe a family. Circumstances put us at the mercy of others, whether it is cancer entrusting us to the wisdom of doctors, or an earthquake destroying all we have, and we are forced to seek out help to survive. We are even enslaved to our government, which most of us didn't ask for, and required to pay taxes.

And do we need to go down through the pages of history and look at all the different forms of slavery? No, we cringe at the idea of another having authority over us. So much so that St. Paul's words in Ephesians about wives and husbands still ruffles the feathers of many a church goer.

But the bottom line is that Christ said, "In as much as you do it to the least of these, you do it to Me." And the least of these includes also the greatest of these, whether that is a rich boss, a overworked spouse, a screaming child, a beggar, or a dying friend. In as much as you show your love to these, you are enslaving yourself to Christ. I would even go so far as to say, that unless you are willing to be enslaved by another, you will fail to be a slave for Christ.

"But they might abuse me! Take advantage of me!" Yes, they might. Get out of destructive relationships if at all possible. Loving a person doesn't mean enabling them to continue with behaviors that are destructive for their souls and those around them. Indeed, your enslavement to them demands you want what is best for them, which may be counter to what they say they want. But we are still called to love, to fulfill whatever the calling, ministry, or investment into each others lives that we are given the means and ability to do. For God has chosen it for us.

That's why the inscription is written in Hebrew in my story. It's because God chose Sisko. Sisko didn't chose to bear the ring or become a miracle man. Just as Nathan didn't chose to be bound to help his sister. But he did so out of love for her, and the "bond" turned from a "have to" to a "want to." If we are not bound to another in some form or fashion, we don't love Christ as we ought. And we would do well not to shy away from the mission God has given us, but embrace it with faith in our Master, even if that calling entails a human "master."

Home for Christmas—Wherever That Is

As a Christmas Gift for my blog readers, I'm offering this free 1922 word Christmas story from the Realities' world. What happens when you mix an ogre and Christmas together? You'll never guess. Read on to find out. And have a Merry Christmas!

---

Sikso held out a gift. He hoped Josh would like it.

Josh smiled and lifted the gift from Sisko's palm. A couple of children passed by on the road in front of his house as Josh ripped the wrapping off.

They had decided to exchange gifts on Christmas Eve. Sisko wished he could have found something prettier than green leaves stitched together, but he had nothing else to wrap it in. He put such thoughts aside. He knew his best friend Josh wouldn't mind. The excitement of the Christmas celebration forgave many minor trespasses.

Josh pulled it out of the wrapping. A polished wooden stick. Josh smiled. "A wand."

Sisko nodded. "I carved, sanded, and stained it myself. Should be useful in your wizard training."

Josh waved it around. "I like it. Thanks." He glanced at Sisko and back to his new wand. "Did your ring add anything to it?"

"No, why would it?" The ring he'd received allowed him to do miracles, heal people mostly, help them in general. He'd been charged to be his brother's keeper, helping whoever God led him to.

"Just wondering." Josh examined the wand close up. "As a matter of fact, this will help me to give you a gift."

Sisko raised an eyebrow. "Josh, tell me what you're planning."

He smiled. "That would spoil the surprise." He twirled the wand through the air over his head and mumbled some words.

"Josh, hold on!" Sisko jumped from the porch. He felt a wave of distortion pass over him. Combined with the movement, it caused his stomach to lurch. His front yard vanished and a forest of trees took their place.

Josh scanned the area as if searching. Sisko followed his eyes to see a house nestled among the trees. Josh pointed at the house. "Does that look familiar?"

Sisko shook his head. "Never seen this place before."

Josh sighed. "I thought I had the transport spell down better."

Sisko frowned. "Where are we?"

Josh stared at the ground. "I don't know."

"But you sent us here."

"I thought I had a better picture of your Uncle Seth's house."

Sisko slapped his forehead. "So that's why you kept asking me all those questions about my uncle's house."

"Milnore said a transport spell worked if you had a clear image of where you needed to transport to."

Sisko leaned against a tree. "So why didn't it work? I think I painted a clear enough picture of my uncle's house."

Josh thought for a second. "Milnore must have meant I needed to be there. To have a complete visual picture in my mind, I have to experience the place."

"Do me a favor? When you're experimenting with spells, leave me out of it?"

Josh hung his head. "Sorry. I only wanted to let you visit with your Uncle for Christmas."

Sisko placed a hand on Josh's shoulder. "You had good intentions. No harm done. Just send us back. You do have a mental image of our village, don't you?"

He smiled. "Of course."

The door to the house flung open and then a young boy flew from it. A man wielding an ax chased after him. "Get back here, you thief!"

Sisko's heart leaped within him. He glanced at Josh. "I'm supposed to help someone here."

"Are you serious? Who, that boy?"

Sisko shrugged. "That's the only one I can see in trouble at the moment."

Josh shook his head. "You can't go running between that boy and an ax-wielding man."

Sisko jogged toward them. "Someone has to."

Josh huffed. "And of course it has to be you. Some Christmas present this turned out to be." He ran after Sisko.

As Sisko drew closer, the man's features grew clearer. Despite his size, he appeared hunched over, and big warts protruded on his forehead and cheeks. The young boy fled too fast. His black hair, shoulder length, flapped behind him as he ran.

"It's an ogre," Josh huffed from behind Sisko.

An ogre! Sisko had never met a live ogre before. The stories he'd heard weren't too flattering either. And this one's face, jaw locked as he chased after the boy, didn't dispel those impressions.

The boy tripped and tumbled to a stop in the grass. The ogre caught up with him and held the ax over his head. "Give it back!"

Sisko drew close enough to attract their attention. They both watched as Sisko and Josh slowed to a stop before them.

The ogre growled. "Stay out. This is none of your business."

Sisko stepped beside the boy. "When I see bullies chasing someone with an ax, it becomes my business."

The ogre pointed at the boy. "He stole from me. I have a right to get it back."

The boy shook his head. "He wants to eat me."

The ogre laughed. "I don't want to eat him."

Josh cleared his throat. "I heard ogres like to eat people."

The ogre shrugged. "Some do." He raised his ax higher. "I don't have to explain myself to you two. Step aside. I have no reason to cut you down, but I will if I have to."

Sisko nodded his head. "Sorry. You'll have to kill me first."

Josh's eyes widened. "Sisko, what are you doing?"

The ogre nodded. "He's right. Why would you want to die for someone you don't even know? Why protect a criminal?"

"Because he's worth as much in God's eyes as you or me. All I know is you're chasing him with an ax."

The ogre sighed. "Have it your way." He pulled the ax back.

Josh flipped his wand out and said some words. Mud flew from the ground and splatted over the ogre's eyes. The ogre dropped the ax and then wiped his eyes. "You idiots!"

The young boy leaped to his feet and fled into the forest.

Josh motioned for Sisko to leave. "You've done your helping thing, now let's go."

Sisko checked his heart. "No, I'm not done here."

Josh groaned. "Why not?" He watched as the ogre splashed water over his eyes from a basin by the side of the house.

"All I know is I still haven't helped the one I'm here for. The boy must not have been it."

Josh stared at the sky. "I would at least recommend we go to a nearby town to find the one you're supposed to help. I'd rather not still be here when the ogre comes back. He's not likely to be too happy with us."

Sisko ran fingers through his hair. "I feel this ogre is the one I'm supposed to help."

"You can't be serious."

Sisko watched the ogre wiping his face with cloth. "I'm afraid I am." But what the ogre needed help with, Sisko couldn't imagine. Finding out would be the tough part.

The ogre approached them. "You two! Why did you interfere?"

Sisko glanced at Josh before facing the ogre. "Like I said, it appeared you intended to hurt the boy."

"I wouldn't have hurt him. I only wanted to scare him." The ogre sat on a stump. "He's stole from me before. It's become a game with them. See who can steal from the fat, slow ogre." He stared into the forest.

Josh glanced toward Sisko, and then back to the ogre. "What did you do to deserve that?"

The ogre jerked his head up and glared at Josh. "Why do you think I deserve it? Because I'm an ogre!"

Josh stared at the ground. "Uh, no, that's not what I meant."

"Of course it's what you meant. Everyone assumes because I'm an ugly and lumbering hulk that I must be mean, dangerous, and deserve every bad treatment." He barred his teeth. "What are you two still doing here anyway. You've done your humiliate-the-ogre bit. Begone and leave me in peace."

Sisko wondered if the poor ogre's problems would be changed if he appeared more handsome, trim, and winsome. He could change that with one prayer and the power of his ring. He reached out a hand, but stopped. No, it didn't feel right. The creature had been created an ogre, and he shouldn't mess with it. But then what should he do with his healing ring to help this ogre with his problems?

Josh met Sisko's eyes. He motioned with his head to leave as the ogre suggested.

The ogre stood. "Go away. I've no patience for trouble makers." He stepped toward the house.

Go away? The words resounded in Sisko's mind. How lonely must this ogre be? Sisko froze. Orge. That's all he was to the boy, to those who lived in this area. To even Josh and himself.

Sisko stepped forward. "My name is Sisko and this is Josh. What's yours?"

The ogre stopped and paused. A few seconds passed, then he turned. "What did you say?"

"I asked, what's your name?"

The ogre's eyes softened and his mouth relaxed. "No one's ever asked me that before." For the first time, a hint of a smile creased his lips. "My name is Xilner. Glad to meet your acquaintance, Sisko and Josh."

Sisko bowed. "The honor is all mine, Xilner."

He sat back on the stump. "So tell me, how come you stayed?"

Sisko grinned. "Because God told me I needed to help you."

"Help me?" He shook his head. "That's a first. No one has ever helped me. Called me names, scream at me, beat on me, steal from me, yes. But help me? No."

An idea popped into Sisko's head. He'd likely get in big trouble for this. "Xilner, do you have any plans for Christmas."

"Plans? What I do every year. Sit in my house, munch on food, and watch the world drift by oblivious to me."

Sisko nodded. "Not this year. This year, I'm inviting you to my house for Christmas."

Josh's mouth fell open. "Your mother isn't going to like this."

Sisko smiled. "Probably not. But I have a feeling Xilner will grow on them pretty quick."

Xilner grinned. "I wouldn't be too much of a problem, would I?"

Sisko waved a hand. "No, no. You're my personal guest."

"And your mother isn't going to like it." Josh glanced at Sisko. "Just sayin'."

Sisko stared into the sky and nodded his head.

Xilner rose and headed toward his house. "I'll get ready. I need to change clothes." He stopped and turned around. "Sisko, thank you."

"For the invite?"

"Well, yes, for the invite. But mostly for treating me as a person." He grinned big before heading back to the house.

"What do you know, Josh. I didn't even need to use my ring to fix this one. He's just lonely. Needs someone to care about him." Sisko slapped Josh on the back. "You gave me the greatest Christmas present ever."

Josh watched Sisko from the corner of his eye. "Really? You're helping him. What are you getting out of it?"

"The satisfaction of being my brother's keeper. And for finding that brother in the most unlikely of beings."

Josh crossed his arms. "Well, glad I could help. I had this planned from the beginning. Just wanted it to be a surprise."

"Right. Now how about getting that transport spell back in gear. And please, please, get a good image in your mind of Raul before you do the spell? I don't want to end up in some strange place for Christmas."

He blew air from his mouth. "No problem. I'm ready." He watched as Xilner exited the door. "But I know your mother isn't going to like this."

The End