Valiant Player

Valiant Player(Ric Wooldridge) Valiant Player

Loraye Starleaf drifted with the early summer breeze. To those who roamed the earth unaware, she seemed to be a butterfly or a fallen leaf carried on the wind. Of course, that was all that they were meant to see. It was a rare thing for one of her kind to leave the land of Faerie. Most of humankind thought creatures such as herself to be imaginary. This notion suited the inhabitants of the world of eternal twilight just fine.

Loraye Starleaf traveled with a purpose. She was drawn into the Dreamquest. A rare and wonderful event had taken place in the world of man. A special child was born. The child would be talented, gifted with abilities which would bring beauty and enlightenment into the world around him. Or, his birth might bring a curse beyond imagining. A curse bearing pain, hunger, and sorrow to all that cohabited in this world. Loraye Starleaf would give her life, if necessary, to prevent the latter.

Out of the billions of births in the world of mankind, few were born to shape the world. These are the ones that can make dreams come true, be they of light and beauty or of darkness and woe. To these are drawn the Dreamquesters. Faeries and Goblins.

Loraye Starleaf knew that one of the Dark Ones would be summoned. He would try to counter her purpose. Loraye Starleaf was resolved. The Dark One must fail!

Valiant Player, a six year old boy with tight curly black hair and dark skin, lived up to his name as he played hard with the other youngsters on the playground. Though he was smaller than the other children, he was fearless in his competitions, and he tackled each new game with good natured enthusiasm.

At the moment, Val was perched on the shoulders of an older blond boy as he charged into the group of children who were doing likewise. The evident purpose of the game was to topple the passenger of the opposing team to the ground. A Chicken Fight! They grappled fiercely until just one team was left standing, and then they would start all over.

Val and his partner were the last to be toppled, mainly because of the greater weight difference of the undefeated team. As Valiant struck the ground, he rolled to his feet and then sprang into the legs of the victors, tripping them so that they also fell to the ground laughing.

Everyone liked Val. He played hard. He learned quick. His thinking was original. The other young ones quickly followed his lead, and happily. His parents and teachers, in fact everyone that knew him, agreed that this boy was going to be something special. Everyone had plans for him, as to what he was going to be. Nobody realized just how special this young Valiant really was. Even at the age of six, HE would decide what his future was to be.

Diresoul Hopeslayer was arrogantly confident, but that was natural for his kind. He would be the one to effectively influence this Valiant Player, he had no doubt. Diresoul Hopeslayer had never failed in the Dreamquest. Human history was a tribute to his evil expertise.

He feared not the opposer that would attempt to hinder him. The Faeries were weak and fearful of discovery. In being such, they always tried to influence the dreamer in subtle fashion. Diresoul Hopeslayer had no such weakness. He could, and often did, attack the good influences on the dreamer openly. He was an expert in the cold destruction of the Dreamer’s conscience. A killer of the sweet dream, and a life-giver to the nightmare.

Diresoul Hopeslayer had taken pride in causing the hateful madness in such persons as Emperor Nero, who burned Rome and then fed innocents to animals; The Dominican friar, Toma`s de Torquemada and Pope Sixtus IV, who excelled in the heinous atrocities of the inquisition. Adolf Hitler had been his crowning piece of work, igniting the world with suffering and hatred.

Diresoul Hopeslayer moved through shadows, he being a creature of darkness and a hater of the light. Valiant Player would become another trophy in the long halls of history, to the credit of the Goblin of the Direst Deeds. He would entice young Valiant into the Darkness, bringing untold woe to the pathetic world of man.

Loraye Starleaf and Diresoul Hopeslayer were poised and ready. The subject of their Dreamquest was before them, still awake, piecing together a tune that only he heard, sweet and true. His parents had noted his musical tendencies while he was yet a baby. Whatever toy he had, if it made noise, he would bend it’s sound to some sort of musical pattern. Last year his parents had started his piano lessons. A month ago his father had bought him a set of keyboards with professional range and quality. With them he would make his musical dreams come true. The goblin and the faerie each could see that this child’s dreams would have great impact on his world. Good or bad, they each felt that the world’s fate rested on them.

The child would make his own decisions, but the Dreamquesters would attempt to sway him to their chosen path.

“Val, another day of school tomorrow. Sack time,” his father said as he poked his head into the room.

“‘Kay Pop,” Valiant replied, “Listen to this first.” Val laid his hands to the keys and the sweet sound of strings floated into the air, accompanied with the happy sound of the piping of an old sea chantey. After the first seconds though, it twisted into the shape of the song that his mother had been listening to moments before he had come into his bedroom.

Val’s father smiled warmly, letting his pride in his son clearly show. “That’s nice, son. You’ll have to play it for your Mom tomorrow. Now, hit the sack, Jack!”

“Aye Aye, Sir!” Val laughed, “Hit the light and shut the door tight.”

“That ain’t no time to horse with the rhyme, so put your head to the pillow, instead,” his father continued the word game.

“When the sun comes out, just give me a shout. ‘Cause it won’t be cool if I miss school. So I’ll leap from my sleep, from under my sheet. Then I’ll wash up and eat, before I run to the street, and all the while I’ll be keeping the beat. Good night, Pop.”

“Good night, son.”

As usual, Valiant listened to music and made rhymes in his head until he fell asleep. As his eyes shut in slumber, his musical thoughts wrapped themselves into dreams where his music took solid form. Shapes of stunning beauty and terrible power. Tonight his own dreams beckoned to him.

The world of dreams is a real place where the unreal commonly occurs. Small boys become dragon slayers. Young girls become movie stars and goddesses. In the world of dreams, the desire of the heart is answered.

The Desires of the Heart.

There are nightmares, of course. Dreams where small children are chased by animals, strangers, and monsters.
Insecurities are awakened and the darkness overshadows the heart. While the young knight raises his sword to do battle with the dire villain, or he charges the evil dragon on his mighty steed, it all falls apart. His invincible golden sword turns into a foot long hotdog, and the villain is no longer content with imprisoning the damsel as he sprouts fangs and proclaims his thirst for hero’s blood. As he turns to flee, his legs lose the ability of speed, so that his pursuer remains just behind him with it’s claws just touching his back. The hero becomes the terrorized prey, as the evil continues to pursue him. All. Night. Long.

Good dreams, bad dreams. The desire of the heart and the battle against darkness. It’s only a dream, simple and harmless. Until the hungers are awakened by the Dreamquest.

Val dreamed an old dream. One that re-occurred often. He played his music on a guitar, but the sound was like that of no single instrument. The music was beautiful and majestic. It permeated the very air around him.

Playing in front of people was nothing new to Valiant. But normally when he played in front of the children he knew, very few were notably interested. Tonight it was different. In his dream, all were mesmerized. All stared in rapt attention and approval. At the fore was a young classmate, Bonnie Golden, with eyes filled with admiration, and a special smile just for him.

In his everyday life he would never even speak to Bonnie, unless necessary. Boys were not supposed to like girls. To himself, though, he thought she was pretty. He thought of talking to her, and sometime of giving her a flower. Someday. In his dreams, he played for her and talked to her. He even held her hand and played in the tall grass in the park. She loved his music, and he loved to make her smile. In his dreams.

As he played in his dreams, something changed. Loraye Starleaf appeared next to him and joined in playing the wonderful music that encompassed them. She played a harp, and it too added a multiple chorus to the air. Valiant smiled in appreciation as he looked at his new partner. He began to weave what he was playing into a new pattern, reflecting greater glory and joy.

Then, from the corner of his eye, he saw a darkness moving close to Bonnie. It enveloped her and merged with her. The darkness was no longer visible, but Bonnie had changed. The look in her eye was different. Before it had been the look of approval and the promise of friendship. Now it was the look of awe and worship. With the change of her facial expression came a change also in body language. It expressed, , , , something unfamiliar. To Val, it looked like hunger. The atmosphere grew close, as if the air was getting heavy. His breath came harder causing his heart to beat faster.

His music almost faltered, but the strong harmonies of Loraye Starleaf intensified. It transmitted confidence and strength. The sound of their playing no longer just filled the air, but caused the walls to glow with splendor. It drew him back and encouraged him to creativeness. As the music grew into a clean, vibrant, choir of yet undiscovered instruments, the audience began to change also. The faces became more clear to his eyes and he saw the mindless worship being rendered to him. Then the thought came to him, “They are all yours. These all belong to you. Accept your due.”

Bonnie was reaching out to him with a look on her face that both confused and excited him. It was obvious that the audience would give him anything, would do anything, if he but commanded it.
It was in the same instant that he received the revelation of power that Loraye Starleaf began to sing. In a cascade of splendor, her voice did more than touch the heat. Her voice was utterly soul-piercing. It was sweet tasting to the palate of Valiant’s very being:
Music and Power -- The Power of Music
Worship or Love -- Which is it you seek?

Power of Friendship -- Or Abuses of Power
You Must Choose, little boy -- Hate or Love Shower

The Power of Music -- Music and Power
Hold the Light, -- Embrace the Dark
You Must Choose, little boy -- In This Very Hour


The song was simple, but disturbing. It seemed to carry weight and import. Val tried to slip into a rhythm mode so that he could just keep the pattern. He wanted to stand back and hear the singing. He wanted to see the audience more closely, but the dream was forcing him to continue in the lead role. The dream was forcing him to make a choice. He MUST continue to play, or cease entirely and surrender to the desire of the audience.

The choices were clear. He could continue playing and being drawn into the wonderful music. He could do this by throwing his attention, his passion and complete dedication into it’s making. In doing this, he would possess the beauty, the treasure of his desire.

His other choice was to turn his back on the glorious music, by making a half-hearted effort and then abandon it to accept the tendered worship. In doing so, he would grasp the dark power, the ability to manipulate his worshipers. It was his for the taking, and nobody but he himself would know that he was deceiving his admirers. He could sacrifice the pure art, by a counterfeit effort. Play with an inferior effort and pass it off as gold. Satisfaction in accomplishment, or the exaltation of possession by power. The desires of the heart, there for the asking. He HAD to choose.

Six year old Bonnie Gold, desired friend, stood before him and was moving in a manner unknown to any of such tender age. Val felt attractions and could divine pleasures that he did not understand. Val also felt excitement at the adoration of his audience, and their hunger for his performance, their hunger for himself. The lure was strong.

But the music was beautiful. The music made him feel alive. The joy of the sound that came from his magical instrument made his spirit soar. The choice was there, but there was really no choice. Val turned his back on his audience and immersed himself in the majestic waves of harmonious, heart fulfilling music.

As he made his choice, the Darkness fled. Valiant Player took no note of it. Loraye Starleaf rejoiced in the Light of his choice. The joy of Valiant Player’s music would be her gift as well as it was his. The joy of the music was also to be a gift to the many who would hear and appreciate the light, the happiness, and the hope that the life of Valiant Player could convey. Together they played the celebration until the dream ended in the short time before a peaceful waking.

Val would not remember his dream, but his music would come out. The music, his gift, his energies, and his choice. The Dreamquest had ended, but the choice was permanent.

Valiant player woke early and dressed for the last day of school, before his summer vacation. He was happy and his heart was bright. He looked forward to his walk to school, and to playing with his friends. When he returned home, he planned to play a song for his Mom. Today, he though, maybe he’d even say “hi” to Bonnie.

“THE BEGINNING”