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6M

P8

Gnorr and the Scroll of Qhasar

By

Calmen Granger

Synopsis

 

Gnorr is born during a violent electric storm. His appearance is as startling as his special powers. When he turns 11, he stops growing and is visited by three mysterious members of the Tannos tribe, who tell him he is needed for an important mission. The evil Demonix is intent on possessing the Scroll of Qhasar – the magical device containing the seven moral codes of the universe -– that will give him control over the Light Universe. The ancients broke it into seven pieces and hid them in carefully chosen sites on earth’s seven continents. Now Gnorr holds the future of earth in his hands, as the only person who can unite the seven energy centers which make up the core of Qhasar. Each energy centre has its own colour and is protected by a master of light. Taking the form of a dwarf, and with the help of the seven masters of light and the ancient indigenous tribes of each continent, Gnorr must find the seven codes and return the scroll to Qhasar. The journey is dangerous and exciting, a kaleidoscope of amazing characters, mysteries and ancient rituals that spans the earth and keeps the reader engaged. From a vulnerable young boy who searches for comfort and security from others, Gnorr becomes strong and confident, learning how to strengthen his boundaries and friendships by listening to his intuition and making good choices. This is a unique battle between light and dark, good and evil which finally ends with a twist in the tale.

 

 Excerpt of Chapter 4

 

He sat down on the floor, completely exhausted and not knowing what to do next, when the room started to change shape and a long corridor opened up in front of him. He walked down the corridor and stopped in front of a golden altar covered in Egyptian hieroglyphics.

    Somehow he knew he had reached the inner sanctum of the Temple. The sun was beginning to rise and the rays of light traveled down the corridor, creating a red glow on the golden altar. When the first beam of light touched the altar the lizard-like body of Duna appeared.

    She stood in the centre of the golden alter and smiled down at Gnorr.

    “Well done,” she said. You have achieved a great deal within a short space of time. But there is one more thing you will have to do before you return to the Dogon village, and that is to decipher the first moral code.” She held out a small leather scroll and Gnorr climbed up onto the golden altar to take it from her long six-fingered hand.

    He opened the tiny scroll, expecting to find the first moral code, but was surprised to find the parchment was blank. He looked up at Duna, confused.

    “There is nothing here! How can I decode nothing?”

    Duna responded as if she had been waiting to say this for many, many years: “With courage and self discipline comes authority and responsibility – and that allows you to command and control the positive and negative energies around you. The moral code is written very clearly on that scroll -- but you will only be able to read it when you have found your own courage and self discipline.”

    “I will give you some exercises which will strengthen your vision so that you can see more clearly.”

    “But how long will this take? You know that I don’t have a lot of time!” he cried.

    “That is up to you,” she smiled. “If you do what I say, you will achieve this before the next full moon.”

    “First, to strengthen your outer vision you must focus your attention on the horizon. On your return journey to the Dogon village, keep your eyes focused on the horizon at all times and never look down. This will balance the energy field around you, improve your vision and you will be able to see clearly that you have a great deal of courage.”

    “Secondly, to strengthen your inner vision you must imagine the horizon when your eyes are closed. This is a very difficult exercise because your mind will tempt you to look away. This exercise will teach you self discipline and when you look at the scroll again you will have the courage and strength to see and decipher the first moral code.”

    The light around Duna intensified and he had to close his eyes. When he opened them again he was standing outside the Temple.

    The journey back to the Dogon village was long and treacherous, but Gnorr kept his eyes focused on the horizon for seven days and seven nights. He wasn’t allowed to sleep and was given special herbs to stay wake throughout the entire journey. When the sun became too bright he would close his eyes and imagine the horizon in the distance. On many occasions his mind would try and distract him but he remained focused and on the seventh day, when he finally saw the Dogon village on the horizon, he unrolled the scroll for the second time. This time, he saw the writing on the parchment – but he couldn’t make any sense of the words; all the letters were jumbled up. He would have to wait for the full moon to rise and only then would he be able to read the first code.

    The masked festival had already begun and the high priests were waiting for them on the outskirts of the village. Gnorr was so happy to be back that he didn’t notice that the blue desert tribe had melted away and disappeared back into the desert. When he did realize they were gone, he scanned the desert dunes, hoping to catch a glimpse of them. He had almost given up when they appeared unexpectedly on the horizon and waved goodbye before vanishing into the desert again to continue their nomadic life.      

    Sailif led Gnorr to the Binu shrine as the moon was about to rise, and once they were inside he instructed Gnorr to open the gift he had given him on the first day. Gnorr loosened the rope which held the gift close to his body and removed the cotton cloth. It was a mask made of red clay with the pentagram symbol painted in the centre of its forehead.

    The mouth was wide open and oval in shape, as if it was about to break into song, and the eyes where set deep into the clay. There seemed to be something missing because the right eye contained an embedded blue iolite crystal, while the left eye was empty. Gnorr searched his pockets, found the iolite crystal he had found in the cave and placed it in the socket of the left eye. They walked outside and Gnorr placed the mask over his face. It was a perfect fit and as the moonlight shone down on them the mask seemed to come to life.

    With the mask over his face Gnorr opened the tiny scroll which Duna had given him in the Temple. He closed his eyes and looked at the scroll through the eyes of the mask – amazingly, the jumbled words actually moved around like living insects on the parchment, until at last they started to make sense. Finally, they came together to read:

 

Find the courage to forgive

 

    Gnorr removed the mask, and the moment he did so the tiny scroll burst into flames.

    Suddenly, a load explosion shook the walls of the shrines. Dust rose from everywhere,      and as the sound died away it was replaced by a strange and menacing sound.

    It’s like thousands of tiny fingernails scratching, thought Gnorr.

    He looked up, and froze at the sight. Thousands upon thousands of scorpions, their lethal tails drawn up like bows behind them, were emerging from beneath the rocks and making their way towards them.