Glinda's Letters to Oz Read online

  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Acknowledgements

  What You Need to Know

  Foreword

  Letter-01

  Letter-02

  Letter-03

  Letter-04

  Letter-05

  Letter-06

  Letter-07

  Letter-08

  Letter-09-1

  Letter-09-2

  Letter-10

  Letter-11

  Letter-12

  Letter-13

  Letter-14-1

  Letter-14-2

  Letter-15

  Letter-16

  Letter-17

  Letter-18

  Letter-19

  Letter-20

  Letter-21

  Letter-22

  Letter-23

  Letter-24

  Letter-25

  Letter-26

  Letter-27

  Letter-28

  Letter-29

  Letter-30

  Letter-31

  Letter-32

  Letter-33

  Letter-34

  Letter-35

  Letter-36

  Letter-37

  Letter-38

  Letter-39

  Letter-40

  Letter-41

  Letter-42

  Letter-43

  Letter-44

  Letter-45

  Letter-46

  Letter-47

  Letter-48

  Letter-49

  Letter-50

  The Promise

  Afterword

  APPENDIX

  Rules for Dreaming

  Synopsis: The Glinda Letters

  A Giant Among Munchkins

  A Name, A Coin, An Uttered Oath

  On the Web

  Books by the Author

  About the Author

  GLINDA'S LETTERS TO OZ

  A Hidden History of Oz Collection

  The Hidden History of Oz, Book Four

  Tarl Telford

  Copyright © 2017 Tarl Telford

  Published by Emerald Engine Studios

  Previously Published as The Glinda Letters

  The Hidden History of Oz, Book Four

  All rights reserved.

  Print Version

  ISBN-10: 1976430194

  ISBN-13: 978-1976430190

  Dedication

  To Aimee:

  For watching with me through the storms.

  And to the patient ones:

  Those Who Reach Out to Those in Darkness.

  Four words make all the difference:

  “I love you more.”

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Thanks to all those who believe in Oz. There are many versions out there. Thank you for believing in mine.

  What You Need to Know

  The Hidden History of Oz series is built on the following premise:

  Oz is a land powered by human dreams.

  That which is dreamed in our world affects what happens in that world.

  Dreams are drawn into Oz and filtered through the Emerald Engine, which creates magic in the land.

  A dreamer from our world, dreaming unfiltered dreams in Oz, would change the world around him. That is why they call him the Wizard.

  Chronology—Important Events Related to this Story

  Ozy: The reckoning of years in Oz.

  AD: Common reckoning for earth history.

  BDG: Before Dorothy Gale. After Dorothy came to Oz, a new system of reckoning was used. (There is no year 0 BDG/ADG.)

  1 Ozy / 685 AD / 1215 BDG—Ozma the First becomes the first ruler of the Land of Oz.

  1168 Ozy / 1852 AD / 48 BDG

  The Giant Hourglass completes its cycle early. Every 22 years, there is a period of 22 days where death is suspended in Oz. This cycle ended two days early, to tragic consequences.

  Glinda leaves the North to find a new home. The arrival of Oscar Diggs, the Wizard, to Oz.

  The Third Witch War begins.

  The foundations are laid for the Emerald City.

  Glinda celebrates her sixteenth birthday.

  1170 Ozy / 1854 AD / 46 BDG—Events occurring in the next Hidden History of Oz books.

  1216 Ozy / 1900 AD / 1 ADG—Dorothy Gale arrives in Oz, destroys the Wicked Witch of the East, travels to Emerald City, destroys the Wicked Witch of the West, reveals the Wizard, and goes back to Kansas.

  FOREWORD

  The Glinda Letters provides an intimate glimpse into the relationship between Glinda and Oscar Diggs, the Wonderful Wizard. At the end of Dark Wind in Oz (Book 3), Oscar rejected the help from his friends against the darkness, and entered into his Pandaemonium Chamber to lock out the world. In his darkness, he slowly and deliberately drove himself mad and forgot how to dream. In his mind, this was the only way to keep the madness from overwhelming him. After all, he had just spent the last few days both on the run from Witches and armies and then he was very nearly dead, as his soul wandered through the dreamlands. Such events do not allow for an easy transition back into normal life.

  During the time that Oscar spends locked away from the world, Glinda writes him a letter once a year to inform him of significant events in the Land of Oz, and to share things that she is learning. She encourages him to step out of the shadows and come into the light once again. As the years and decades pass, great changes come to the Land of Oz. After forty-six years, a new dreamer comes to Oz. A young girl named Dorothy Gale destroys the Wicked Witches and discovers the Wizard's secret. (Children of all ages know of these events from L. Frank Baum's classic novel, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.)

  The Glinda Letters bridges the broad gap between The Witch Queens trilogy and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and its sequels. There are many stories hinted at as Glinda shares her adventures with Oscar. Some of these stories will live on the page, and others will live in the imagination of the reader.

  There are also traumatic events as the history of Oz unfolds. There are events that are hidden by Glinda. The average citizen of Oz—Gillikin, Munchkin, Ozzian, Quadling, or Winkie—does not know the truth behind the great powers in the Land of Oz. This is the meaning of The Hidden History of Oz. While life goes on as normal for many of the people of Oz, great changes take place, year after year. Those who have eyes to see and ears to hear will see and hear. And contrary to what some latter Oz historians may believe, Glinda does not know everything. Learning is part of her journey. The reader may be able to see through the words and glimpse the greater story that Glinda cannot yet see.

  This volume completes a single journey for Glinda and Oscar, but there is far more to their story. These adventures will be told in additional stories and novels. After all, neither one of them dreams small dreams.

  * * * * *

  Each entry in The Glinda Letters contains a heading that lists the letter number, and the year it is written. The years are listed in three different formats.

  Example: Letter 1 (1170 Ozy/1854 AD/46 BDG)

  1170 Ozy: The Ozy year notation reflects the reckoning of the years in Oz since the establishment of Ozma the First as ruler over the Emerald Lands of Oz.This reckoning was adopted by other cultures as they assimilated into trade and relationships under the royal rule. Count of Oz years (Ozy).

  1854 AD: The years in common reckoning are included.

  46 BDG: The acronym BDG stands for Before Dorothy Gale, or the number of years before Dorothy Gale entered Emerald City in the story, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. For reckoning purposes, the year that Dorothy entered the Emerald City is set at the year 1900, which equates to 1 ADG (After Dorothy Gale). Note that there is no year 0.

  Letter 1 (1170 Ozy/1854 AD/46 BDG)

  My Dearest Oscar,


  It is with a heavy heart that I write you this day. My only wish for my birthday would be to turn back the clock and let you dream in peace. You have run to your safe place. What I called an Echo Chamber, you called your Pandaemonium Chamber. Where I see power and knowledge, you see shadows and danger. You tried to protect me from the monsters. I wish I could do the same, and protect you from the monsters.

  I never intended to be a monster to you. I was afraid that you might choose some other girl instead of me. I saw your eyes drifting every which way but mine, so I forced my hand into yours, and I forced you to be mine. I wanted to see what a Wizard kept so secret he could not tell his dearest friends. Now I see the danger. I have seen the monster that you feared. More than anything else, you feared what you had become. Your sweet heart, Oscar, almost burst trying to keep the darkness inside.

  You have greatness within you. I know that I have greatness within me, and that our hearts belong together. You did not fail by surviving. Your life is a gift. I brought you back from beyond the walls of eternal sleep so that we could face the future together.

  Several weeks have passed since you locked the doors of your Pandaemonium Chamber. Those weeks I have spent directing reconstruction and giving hope to all the people of Oz who will hear me.

  The Witches have each retired to their own place. Ondri-baba is in the West. She has threatened to destroy all of us if you dare to cross her border again. I do not think that she has the power. She would not risk losing the Winged Monkeys for such a matter. Her bluster is mostly harmless, at least for those not in her land. I fear for the Winkies. Who knows what dangers that land faces? They have no one to protect them.

  Kalinya is angry. Her youthful face burned away. The Kally that you knew has once again become the Kalinya that you feared. Her golden eyes burn with hatred toward both of us now. She has the Silver Slippers again. I wore them for a short time as we searched for the answers to bring you back into Oz. We stilled the dreaming life inside, or at least we tried to. I don't think that my grandfather wrote the correct instructions. It didn't work in his day, and you are still dreaming in mine.

  Mombi is ruined. She is not the cold and beautiful Lady Chamberlain that you knew. She spent her Witch blood to buy her freedom. Now she is but a fraction of her former beauty. King Pastoria has relegated her to paperwork and the unseen mysteries of mundane governance. But I believe that she has a subtle plan to regain her former glory. She is one that I worry about while you are in darkness.

  Locasta watches the North. She hates me. Perhaps someday she will see how my hand has guided even one such as her toward destiny.

  Emerald City is slowly rebuilding. The changes which once came nightly through your dreams are limited now because of the binding power of the emerald pillars that encase most of the towers. Do you realize how close the Emerald City came to being entombed? It was probably only a matter of seconds, or minutes at the most, that prevented our encasement in that binding magic. The protective power of the land was trying to encapsulate the unbound magic loosed by your nightmares. The shining city on the hill very nearly became the city frozen forever in Emerald. Your dreams once shaped the city in the morning sun. Now your legend shapes it through the emeralds.

  The greatest advantage that the emeralds provide is a limitless supply of materials for Promethus to make spectacles. The people of your fair city have no idea what nightmares live at their center. It is best that they don't. It is for this purpose that each citizen and visitor in the Emerald City will be required to wear Emerald Spectacles day and night. I trust that Promethus will provide a clever ruse to convince even the stalwartest of skeptics that this is good. Sometimes the best thing that a guardian can do for their people is to color the truth. I don't say "hide the truth", but rather color it so that they don't see and fear.

  My land has changed. I have new citizens in the northerly reaches of Quadling Country. The Hammer-Heads and the Dainty China Country wish to be left alone. Your dreams brought them to life. I even saw them when I dreamed once. I looked for you in Emerald City, but you were not there. I wrote down what I saw in dream. The porcelain people climbed out of the ground. They seemed to come from nowhere. Now they are real.

  It will take time to get used to the strangeness of this land now. There are many things that I have no concept of yet. We are trying to rebuild. The damage caused by your unshackled dreams has devastated the South and the West. The Emerald City has good workers to take care of the problems there. Central City is ruins. Pastoria now dwells in Emerald City, at street level. I would like to see him back at his ancestral throne, far away from you, but he rebukes my messengers and sends them back ashamed.

  Oscar, I hope that you will get this letter. I wrote it with my own hand. I dismissed everyone who came for my birthday. Everyone who was invited came, except for you.

  I wish, Oscar. Sometimes I wish that I could take it all back. But then I remember that I vowed to protect you. I vowed to protect Oz. That is not an oath that I take lightly.

  I want to wake you and have you by my side always, but I cannot bring you back until you are ready to wake up. With as much as I must have shaken you, I fear the sleep of madness will be long upon your mind. You have the knowledge of three worlds resting on your shoulders. You come from the territory of Nebraska, with stories about America and freedom. You have changed Oz with your call to liberty and independence. The Emerald City is yours. In the dreamlands, you are known, and your name is recognized. They fear you because they cannot change you.

  The Ruby Throne is yours to empower. I will be waiting when you come back. I would that we could stay young forever. I will defend the Emerald City that the legend of the Wizard may grow. Your story will echo throughout the Land of Oz. All shall know what you have done, and you will be wonderful.

  I asked you a long time ago if I could watch you dream. I did not know then what power you held. Now I have seen your dreams. I know your shadows, and I hear the echoes of your pain in every face that I see. You are alone only because you lock the world out. You need not do so anymore. I will protect you.

  In darkness and in light, Oscar, my Wizard, I believe in your dreams. They are magnificent, powerful, and terrifying. They have changed the land, and they will continue to echo through the years. Your thoughts are not my thoughts, but one day we will be one. I await that day when I can look on your face again and see the man who came from the sky. The stains on this paper are my tears. You are the only one who will see them.

  I seal this letter with my love to you. While you sleep, I will watch.

  ~ Glinda

  Letter 2 (1171Ozy/1855 AD/45 BDG)

  My Darling Oscar,

  I miss you. I realize now that I took for granted all of the times that I could come to the Emerald City and see you. I never came to see you, except those two times, and for that, I am deeply sorry. Two years passed while you waited for me, and I, in my home in the South, waited for you. We were two stars at opposite ends of a constellation, each shining for the other, but neither able to fall from his or her place to meet together in the place of wishes.

  One year has passed since you closed your doors on me and on the rest of Oz. I watched as Omby-Amby helped you into the Pandaemonium Chamber. I was angry with you then, but that has long passed. I worried for your safety, and for the safety of all Oz. I am her protector. And I am your protector, forever and for always. You were dead to us, and we brought you back.

  Only now that we have survived does the emptiness set in. I feel like you are, in many ways, still dead, at least to me, and I miss you. To the Emerald City, and the Land of Oz, the Wizard lives eternal. Your legend and your daring have been published and sent throughout the land. Your fame lives, and you are greater in your absence than you were at any time in the last three years.

  A barbed peace has been negotiated with Kalinya in the East. I have heard rumors of strange goings-on in the East, and I am concerned that her plans for you are not finished. I sent Wickri
e-Kells as my ambassador to negotiate peace with Kalinya. Wickrie has had hard times, especially in the first year after you locked yourself away. She had been enchanted by Witch magic. It scarred her soul and twisted lines on her arms. While some Witches wear these magic lines as a symbol of their power, I know that they brought shame to Wickrie. She is my friend and I trust her. In her shame, she wears long sleeves now. Perhaps it is to hide scars. Perhaps she cannot bear to remember those horrible whispers and what they brought about in her blood. Promethus reminded her on our last visit to Emerald City that she must keep herself clean. He is a fitting guardian for the gates of your fine city.

  When Wickrie-Kells returned from the East, she brought back acceptable tidings. She is a capable diplomat, and I trust her in her dealings with the Wicked Witches. Her brush with magic has given her a certain empathy that I believe gives her an edge in negotiations with the Witches, especially Kalinya. Now, the peace is not certain, and the treaty has many holes in it, but it is a start. Both parties agree that a certain number of soldiers belong on the border to ensure only authorized crossings.

  I would prefer that we could have free trade between our two countries, and exchange goods and services in plentitude. As it now stands, there are strict guidelines that govern our trade. It was so desired by Kalinya. The fruits of the South come in limited supply to the Munchkin people, which I find disappointing. Our fruits in season make the best pies in all of civilized Oz. I would certainly like the good people to enjoy such fine fruits. But I respect the peace between our people right now. That is far more important to me than sharing pie. (But not by much.)

  After the upheavals settled, we called it a cataclysm. The land was not the same as it was before. Many different types of people and races have appeared. Were they all inspired by your dreams? Perhaps. We may never know, but the simple fact is that the Land of Oz has changed. Where the South was once rolling hills and broad prairies, now there are mountains that bar the way between the East and South. The mountains are frequented by a strange race of creatures called Hammer-heads. They remind me of those boys that played that game with the floating ball. Perhaps the chaotic magic unleashed from the bowels of Oz created those creatures from your dreams. And then again, perhaps they were there all along, waiting outside of Oz, merely waiting for a break in the barrier between worlds to come through.