Lesson Five: “The Night Realm”

"Outta my way!" shouted Sho, stamping his hooves in laughter. "Now, that's how you create a Pillar of Power!" Bulls, let's put on a show for everyone! Activate force fields now!"

And with that, he, Luca, Henry, and Helena lowered their horns and released four beams of electric blue light that shone clear across the garden board.

"That's so cool! Can you do that again?" yelped Sam, Harry's spotty sister.

The Brothers and Cousins Bull smiled.  Sam shook her tail in excitement. Dashing back to their starting squares, the Bull Rooks raised their horns. Sho struck a regal pose and said,  "Let's give the crowd what they want!"

As they were about to unleash their Pillars of Power, the dream began to fade like mist in morning light.

**

With a yawn and a stretch, Sho got to his feet, and called out…

"Luca, Helena, Henry! It's time for breakfast! Let's go find out what King Mateo has planned today." Luca woke with a start and rushed at the sound of his brother’s call.

"Morning Sho, how'd you sleep?" he asked as they made their way downstairs.

“Good. Crazy dreams though. But time travel does that, doesn’t it? Besides, it’s worth it to get a break from those awful ferrets.” Sho shook his head just thinking about the stress they caused Luca. “Can’t wait to take our minds off those bullies and help King Mateo rescue his missing friends.”

The Bulls descended the castle stairs, along with their sleepy cousins Henry and Helena. They could hear King Mateo rustling papers over a massive map in the drawing room. Stepping into the room they noticed he was circling different locations in red marker.

“Will we scout those locations?" asked Luca.

King Mateo spun around. “Good morning! I did’t hear you come down. Great observation Luca. Yes, that’s the plan. I’ll speak to the others after breakfast and see if they’re up for it. It’s time we found our friends.” The King turned back to the massive map on the wall.

"What's in this section here?" asked Sho.

King Mateo followed Sho's finger as he traced it across a jagged and pointy ridge.

"Will we need to pass along this ridge? It looks dangerous," continued Sho.

"I'm afraid so my friend. Otherwise we won't be able to access the valley below. And it seems our friends the Knights may be trapped there."

King Mateo pointed to a different section of the map. “The problem isn’t the ridge. Although I admit, it does look scary. This is the problem…”

The King’s finger pointed to an inky black mass.

"The Night Realm. Here, it's always night-time. The Sun can't penetrate the dense atmosphere and so it's perpetually shrouded in darkness. We've no idea what might be living  there, or what things may be lurking. It's completely unexplored. Until now."

The Bull Rooks exchanged a knowing glance. “We can help. Remember yesterday when we told you about our superpower? I think we can use it to rescue your friends. Come with us."

The Bulls guided King Mateo to the castle's sunless interior, and pulled closed the curtains. The room plunged into an inky darkness.

Slowly, a gentle beam of light broke through the space-like gloom. It grew more and more powerful.

Soon, two bright blue, shimmery beams of electric light cut through the darkness. Then three, then four! They stretched across the checkered floor like crosshairs.

“These light beams, these force fields, will guide us through the Night Realm. With them, we’ll avoid dangers and control any straight line that intersects with us - forward, back, and side to side! Those are our zones! And if anything steps into our zones, our force fields, it gets teleported far away! No more danger!”

"Hey! What’s happening? Why is it so dark?" sounded a small voice. There, in the middle of a beam, stood a confused and rapidly fading puppy!

"Perfect timing Olivia! Now watch this..

But before he could finish his sentence, Olivia was gone. Disappeared!

"I didn't disappear! Not really. I just... moved." said a little voice behind them.

Turning around the group was shocked to see Olivia on the other side of the room.

“Olivia!” gasped Harry. “That was amazing!”

"This is it! This is how we'll be the first explorers to safely traverse the Night Realm! Let’s go everyone!” cheered King Mateo.

Sho couldn’t help but smile. He’d always believed their powers were meant for more than fun. And now, as Oliver was safely transported and the room aglow with force fields, he knew he was right. But his demonstration wasn’t over yet.

"Umm, just a moment, King. If you don’t mind, we have something else to show you. It’s the reason we like to work in pairs. Watch.”

And with that, the Bulls all went to the room’s separate corners. The room filled with nervous expectation. Four dim blue light beams grew stronger and stronger until they sliced through the darkness. The Bulls then shifted positions, sliding to the middle until they stood shoulder to shoulder with their teammate.

“Now do you see why we’re twice as powerful if we work together? said Sho. “Working in pairs with our force fields allows us to control the center and protect our friends… it’s not just about power, it’s about teamwork!”

The King was gobsmacked. “I’ve never seen anything like this!” he said as he turned the lights on and looked around the room. Everyone was in awe. “I, for one, feel much safer knowing they’re on our side!” said Harry.

“Ditto that!” said King Mateo. Before we leave, let’s discuss our plan for exploring the Night Realm. We’ve seen what the Bulls will do, but what about the rest of us? We need to bring our A game. So, with that in mind, I propose something a bit unconventional.”

“The Puppies will form a horizontal line and take the lead using puppy chains. Those chains will help us stay close, guard each other, and make sure no one gets left behind.

"Now, here's where it becomes even more interesting..." continued the King. "As of this moment, I'm granting the puppies a new power! If you can reach the far side of the Night Realm, without getting captured, you can unlock butterfly mode!”

“What's butterfly mode?” asked Olivia.

“It's a special power that lets you transform, like a caterpillar becoming a butterfly. But instead of sprouting wings, you’ll gain a new strength, like becoming a Bull Rook! And as we find more missing friends, you'll be able to transform into any of them! But be aware, it's only temporary. You don’t get to become, in this case, a Bull, forever.”

"Ooohhh, and if we become a Bull Rook, do we also get to use force fields?!?" asked Harry. "And can Ralph activate butterfly mode?"

"Yes, Ralph also. If he'd like. But again you have to make it to the other side of the Night Realm, or the board, to activate this power. Just remember, “A Pawn who reaches journey’s end, trades in their spots, for powers to win!” Got it, everyone?"

“Got it!!!” they all replied.

Sho raised his horns and bellowed, “Straight lines - forward, back, and side to side…”  The puppies joined in with a bark, “From puppy chains to Butterflies, we’ll protect our team!”

“Alright, gather your explorer packs. It’s time we found our friends. A new adventure is about to begin!” said King Mateo with a grateful grin.

So off they went, King Mateo, his brother Korben, the sixteen puppies, and our Bull Rooks. Join us next week to see if they found any of the missing animals.

And in the meantime, how would you like to try using force fields in our chess games?

It could be fun. Let’s try it out!