The next morning, Patrick and his crew, Glanthel and Endram, were taking a passenger run to the Summit. The train went without incident, but that didn\u2019t stop Patrick from grumbling about what was said last night. \u201cGhosts on Sodor,\u201d he scoffed as he climbed Devil\u2019s Back. \u201cThe only \u2018ghost\u2019 here was Percy tricking Thomas on the NWR! He got his comeuppance later on! There\u2019s no such thing as ghosts here!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere is some truth to ghost stories,\u201d remarked Endram as he checked Patrick\u2019s fire, \u201ceven if the ghosts themselves are fake.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOh, really? And did you happen to see any ghosts?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs a matter of fact, the Under-realm, the home of my son\u2019s beloved Malnar and Gorfanth, is the ghost capital of the Realms.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBack before the Realms fully united,\u201d explained Glanthel, \u201cthe Under-realm was very liberal with necromancy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDeath-related magic, yes?\u201d asked Patrick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat\u2019s right. Because of their frequent use of it, the veil between the living and the dead was permanently weakened and so ghosts are a common sight there. It\u2019s usually unheard of when a ghost pops up in any other Realm.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI do recall one incident,\u201d said Endram. \u201cIt happened during-\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTHERE\u2019S AN ENGINE ROLLING DOWN THE LINE!\u201d called the coach. Patrick braked to a halt and his crew and passengers saw a single engine going backwards down Devil\u2019s Back. It then rolled off the tracks and down the mountain. Patrick could see that it almost looked like Culdee!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cQuick! Get Control on the line! Culdee\u2019s had an accident!\u201d urged Patrick. Glanthel quickly took the radio and call Control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEmergency!\u201d he said. \u201cCuldee\u2019s derailed off Devil\u2019s Back! Repeat, Culdee has rolled off of Devil\u2019s Back!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c\u2026Are you being funny?\u201d asked Control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not! Culdee\u2019s had an accident!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat\u2019s impossible. Summit\u2019s reported that he delivered his passengers to the Summit Hotel safely. He\u2019s still waiting for you to come up so he can come down.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThen it was probably Shane Dooiney! Or Wilfred! Or Ernest!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cShane Dooiney is currently arranging the Truck and Wilfred and Ernest are coming back from their maintenance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWell, whatever engine that fell down the mountain wasn\u2019t to Superheat Design, I can tell you that!\u201d snapped Patrick. \u201cI know Alaric and Eric are doing track maintenance around Skarloey Road! And I\u2019m still on the rails!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThen you were mistaken and there WAS no engine derailment! Quit wasting our time!\u201d Control then ended the call.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBu-but-!\u201d stammered Patrick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe saw it too,\u201d assured Glanthel. \u201cAnd so did the passengers, from the sound of things.\u201d While the passengers talked about what happened, Patrick resumed his journey up the mountain. His smokebox was all a blur with his thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Later in the evening, Patrick told everyone what happened on Devil\u2019s Back. \u201cI\u2019m telling you; I saw that engine as he tumbled down the mountainside! It looked almost like Culdee!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m surprised Control didn\u2019t send someone over to the crash site,\u201d muttered Shane Dooiney, the number five engine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey did,\u201d replied Glanthel, \u201cbut there was nothing there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat is going on around here?\u201d muttered Yufantel. \u201cIf it IS Godred\u2019s ghost, why hasn\u2019t he appeared before now?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSomeone may have artificially weakened the veil between the living and the dead,\u201d guessed Irina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere\u2019s merit in that theory,\u201d said Endram. \u201cI was about to tell Patrick about it before we saw the crash.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAbout when you saw the ghost of Daddy Lardeth\u2019s father?\u201d asked Yufantel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the one. I take it someone told you about it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt was Grandma Olmarfa who told me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDo you want to tell the story or should I?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou tell the story.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cVery well.\u201d Endram then took in a breath and began. \u201cFirst off, we all must get clear that I am NOT Lardeth\u2019s father. Oh, yes, I married his moms, but that was after their previous husband, the father of their children died. His father, the previous Over-King before me, a human called Yentil, was once an engine driver for the Great Wysper Northern Railway. Even when he was King, he would always find time to work there with his firewoman. From my wives and children\u2019s description, he was also very boastful and so was the firewoman. They always talked about their spotless record, how they had never once been late or had an accident. The real kicker of it was that it was all true.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTrue?\u201d asked Sira incredulously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t believe it myself until I saw the documentation to prove it. They were quick to criticize anyone, even their own crew, if they were late in any capacity. Their Controller always praised them whenever they delivered their trains on time. That\u2019s ultimately what caused the accident.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d asked Culdee. He had a guess but wanted confirmation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYentil and his firewoman had to take a late-night express passenger train. They suffered a delay and couldn\u2019t get out of the station fast enough when the Conductor finally blew his whistle. Back when the Great Wysper Norther Railway was in operation, their main line went around a mountain and there was a deep ravine. The night they took that train was foggy and there was snow on the ground. With the poor visibility, icy rails, and Yentil and his firewoman\u2019s desire to maintain their spotless record, thus causing them to go at a criminally reckless speed, the outcome was inevitable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey crashed,\u201d summed up Irina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCame right off the rails at the first sharp bend. Yentil, his firewoman, all the passengers, and the Conductor lost their lives that night and the accident ruined the railway\u2019s reputation forever. It closed and the mountain line was ripped up and the engines and rolling stock were sold to other railways so they could regain some of their financial loss.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat does that have to do with ghosts?\u201d asked Patrick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFor a while, there was a story that, on the anniversary of the accident, a ghost train would go along the old mountain road to try and finally complete its journey. Lardeth didn\u2019t believe it until his Tour of Duty came to an end. A week before, our Destroyer brought a Wraith to the Over-realm and it\u2019s believed that his actions weakened the veil between the living and the dead for that moment in the Over-realm, thus allowing everyone, even Lardeth, to see the ghost train. We managed to intercept it and the old Railway Controller asked forgiveness for cultivating their ego to the point it led to a fatal accident. Yentil and his firewoman forgave him and one of our former Gods gave the ghost train a new path to the eternal rest they craved while also restoring the barrier between living and dead to its former state.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd if that mystery engine IS Godred\u2019s ghost,\u201d remarked Culdee, \u201cwe need to help him achieve his rest.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd how, pray tell,\u201d grunted Patrick, \u201cdo we do that?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c\u2026I don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe can\u2019t exactly plan with no sleep,\u201d said Irina. \u201cWe need to discuss this in the morning.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIrina\u2019s right,\u201d agreed Alaric, the number seven engine. \u201cWe need some shut eye. Good night.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGood night,\u201d replied everyone else. The engines went to sleep as their crews went home.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The next morning, Patrick and his crew, Glanthel and Endram, were taking a passenger run to the Summit. The train went without incident, but that didn\u2019t stop Patrick from grumbling about what was said last night. \u201cGhosts on Sodor,\u201d he scoffed as he climbed Devil\u2019s Back. \u201cThe only \u2018ghost\u2019 here was Percy tricking Thomas on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5119,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[754,880],"tags":[482,9,146,337],"class_list":["post-6440","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-journey-through-wonder","category-story-journey-through-wonder","tag-fantasy","tag-kamen-rider","tag-sonic","tag-transformers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6440","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6440"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6440\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6441,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6440\/revisions\/6441"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5119"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}