Legacies

by Bebe Lightsmith

  Over the past couple of months, I had learned a lot about my new friend. In the evenings, she would often come to hang out in my dorm and play with Archimedes. She talked about getting a kitten but had yet to make the purchase. I also found that when she is curious about a subject, she can’t let it go until all her questions have been answered. Take medical magic, for instance. Her little stint in the hospital had landed me nearly a month worth of headaches as I answered questions about everything from troll-herpes to Sudden Onset Werewolf Dimensia. Medical magic is learned; therefore, it was a career field that was open to relatively everyone. Legate wizards, second sons, and everyone in between could be successful in medical magic. The hospital was also no place for legacies unless their legacy derived from medicine. Not that I ever felt the calling, in fact, the human body disgusts me for the most part.

  I also learned that Ivy wasn’t afraid of asking any question that popped into her pretty little head. Sometimes she caught me off guard. For instance, just a few nights ago, while Ryker had a late knight training session, her and I were in my dorm, Archimedes curled up on her lap. I was teasing her about Ryker, and she was a good sport, laughing at my jokes.

  “What about you?” She had asked, “I’ve never seen you with anyone, or even take an interest in others. I don’t even know what your sexual orientation is.” She laughed after a moment.

  “I like girls.” I laughed. The only person who knew about this was Ryker, but I also knew I could trust Ivy. “I’m saving myself for someone,” I admitted. It was stupid and weird, but every time I started to get close to another girl, her face would appear in my head, and my body would grow cold. I loved her, I’ve loved her for as long as I can remember, but her life was complicated, and therefore, I vowed I would wait until she was ready for me.

  “Really?” Ivy had stared up at me with those big green innocent eyes. “Oh, well that’s quite gallant. Any chance you’ll tell me who she is.” I was shaking my head before she finished the sentence.

  “Not a chance.” I smiled. Ivy was also good about not prying when the boundary was clear.

  “Well, I look forward to meeting her.” She smiled up at me. Then her small, pretty face grew contemplative. “You know, I respect that a lot. I mean, everyone our age, or at least this is how it was with my human friends, but everything had to be instant, in the now. They never felt like they had enough time. If they liked someone, they had to be together right then, or they would explode or something.” She paused for a moment. “We’re only teenagers, so I suppose we have plenty of time to wait for our ones to get themselves together.” I had never thought of Ivy being in the same situation as me, but now that she had pointed it out, it seemed like a terrible oversight. Of course, she was in the same position as me. Ryker was a stubborn pain in the ass, and he had to have everything on his terms, a lot like my lady. Ivy was just left waiting.

  “At least you two have dream world.” I had to admit, I was jealous. Not of their connection or anything weird like that, but of that uninterrupted time they were forced to spend together. If I ever got eight hours of uninterrupted time with my lady, she would know exactly how I felt.

  “The more we see each other in dream world, the more he seems to be withdrawing from me in the real one,” Ivy muttered after a moment. I could see that. Ryker only associated with her during school hours, or if all three of us were hanging out. He was never alone with her. Ryker also never discussed anything profound with her or with her around. He kept his thoughts and emotions tight to the vest. I was used to that, as I was the only confidant he had had since, well, birth, but Ivy deserved the same. She was one of us, after all, Team Camelot.

  Sitting in the auditorium, while Agent Rogers still prattled on about safety and protocol, I gave Ryker a sidelong glance. For the most part, I tried to stay out of his personal life because, well, I never really cared before. But over the past four months, I learned that Ivy deserved better. Her and Ryker, unlike my lady and me, could actually be together without much of a fight. That was part of the reason why I worked so hard to remain the number one ranked wizard of my generation; if I got granted one favor, it would be permission to marry that girl. So I was working for that favor.

  Reaching around Ivy, I smacked Ryker on the back of the head, and then quickly pulled my arm away, in hopes that he wouldn’t realize it was me. Of course, he realized it was me, and made the “What the hell?” motion. I just shrugged. He glared at me for a moment and then settled back in his seat.

  “Professor Morgana Le Fay has graciously volunteered her time to help each team form a game plan and even maybe give them some ancient hints.” Agent Rogers was wrapping it up now. It would only make sense that the millennia-old sorceress would have an idea of where some of these relics were. In fact, I had already planned to meet with her at her earliest convenience. A slide with some login information popped up.

  “Log into this calendar and make an appointment with Lady Morgana. You do not have to, but we strongly encourage that you do.” Agent Rogers explained.

  “We’re going to meet with her tonight,” Ivy whispered, looking down at her phone. Her Grams had just texted her, asking her to go to her office after the meeting.

  After a few more minutes Agent Rogers called the meeting and the room erupted into chaos again. The three of us sat for a moment, allowing the aisles to clear a bit before we tried to push through.

  “Does she have an idea for us?” Ryker asked. We sat with our heads together, Ryker and I leaning over Ivy.

  “I don’t know, this is all she said.” Ivy held up her phone, with just the instructions for the meeting.

  “Well, you know what my vote is on,” Ryker said, giving me a long look. I nodded.

  It had been Ryker’s dream to find Excalibur since we were kids. My mother used to tell us the epic tales of Arthur and Merlin before bed. We shared a room then, as Ryker didn’t have a mother, and his father was away for the war. My mother had loved Ryker like her own, and she would humor him with every tale about Excalibur that she knew of. Sometimes, I would catch her reading old tombs, trying to find more information for him. She always said that it was our duty, as the Legacy of Emrys, to help the Pendragons as much as possible. I never questioned it, because Ryker was always my best friend, and he was always deserving of help.

  When the room cleared a bit, we gathered our things and headed to the north tower, at the top, where Morgana resided. I had never been, but Ivy knew the way. As we walked up the circular staircase, ascending the tower, Ivy started to talk about finding Excalibur, even though Ryker and I had not mentioned it yet.

  “Wait, you want to find Excalibur?” Ryker asked, grabbing her arm to stop her from walking and look at us for a moment. She stood two stairs above us, her notebook open in her hands, as she twirled her pen between her fingers.

  “Uh duh.” Ivy rolled her eyes, and then she paused for a moment to write something in her notebook. “Not only is it an automatic win for the game, but it’s the weapon we most need.” She then gave both of us a pointed look.

  Four months ago, when Ryker and I had stayed in the hospital with her, that night they both had awoken in a panic. They explained that a woman had come to visit them who claimed to be Morgana's sister, Morgose. When Morgana had arrived, she admitted to having not only a sister but a twin. They were separated at birth for one reason or another, and then when they were adults, Morgose found her again. Apparently, she was the one who got Morgana into the dark arts and fueled her lust for power. Morgana had banished her to another dimension after the whole ordeal. The old sorceress was a little vague in her story, and I was sure she was hiding something.

  As far as I knew, there hadn’t been another sighting since then, but Ivy had become extra vigilant. She started reading more about magical combat, went to the gym for extra workouts, ranked up in Krav Maga, and literally asked a million questions about everything she could think of to use as a defense. Was Excalibur her answer?

  “Ivy, n
o one has seen Excalibur since,” Ryker started.

  “Since Grams time?” Ivy interrupted, making her point. If anyone had a lead on Excalibur, it was Morgana.

  When we made it to the top of the tower, the old wooden door was ajar, and we could hear voices and laughter in the room. Ivy knocked as she pushed the door open. Morgana sat at a long wooden table with Conner Lancelot, Agatha Nimueh, and the two nymphs, Melody Haliae, and Hailey Meliae. When Morgana noticed us, she waved us in.

  I had never been to Morgana’s chambers. She lived at the top of the round, spire tower. The walls were covered in bookshelves from the floor to the tip of the ceiling. Paper birds flapped around, sorting piles of books, parchment, and herbs. The room smelled like patchouli and sandalwood. Lit candles sat on every flat surface. In the bay window, a large herb garden blossomed. In the center of the room, a gigantic cauldron sat over an open fire. This was definitely a witch’s room.

  “Come in, join us.” Morgana gestured for us to sit at her long table. “Now that everyone is here we can start. So, I want your two teams to work together for this project.” We all exchanged a glance. Though teams have been known to partner with one another, it was rare and uncomfortable. The more voices, the more doubt in decisions.

  “I am appointing Ryker team captain, as this is his weapon that all of you are searching for, so technically this is your quest.” She winked at him.

  “Wait, what weapon are we finding?” Ryker asked, putting up his hand.

  “Well, Excalibur of course, silly,” Morgana replied, letting out a little laugh. “Ivy, I thought you told him.” Ivy just shrugged. Technically, I guess, she had.

  “Wait, we don’t even know what this weapon is truly capable of.” Ryker started. “I mean, yeah there are stories, but we can’t be sure they are accurate. What if you’re bringing me to a nuclear bomb?” Morgana gave him a long look, her eyes squinted, and her mouth turned down like she was trying to figure out an odd puzzle.

  “Ryker, you know I’ve held it in my hand, correct?” She asked, holding out her right hand. That shut him up.

  “You’ve actually held it?” Conner gasped, staring up at her with a bit of hero worship in his dull brown eyes.

  “Oh, I did. Arthur let me, once.” Morgana explained. “You see, Excalibur, well I didn’t understand the magic, and I still don’t. When I held it, I felt no magic, no energy, nothing, but when Arthur did, I could feel the power, thick in the air, like Lady Justice herself had fixed her gaze on you.”

  “So it’s a blood-line artifact.” I pondered out loud. Morgana looked over at me, her gaze intense.

  “No, Arthur’s son could not wield it, which was why it was not past down the line,” Morgana answered.

  “So what happened to it then?” Ryker asked. He actually looked intrigued, which surprised me because he was so dead against finding it. I knew he had wanted to find the legendary sword, but I also knew his morality often got the best of him.

  “Merlin hid it away. By then the three of us weren’t in contact, so I’m not sure what happened to it.” Morgana shrugged.

  “Is there any record in your grimoire?” Agatha asked me. I shook my head.

  “The only time Merlin mentions the sword is when Arthur used it to defend Camelot from Morgana,” I explained.

  “He was a young man then, he’d had the sword for decades after that.” Morgana murmured.

  “So you have no clue, no idea?” Ivy asked her.

  “No,” Morgana replied, the room let out a sigh, “But I do have some resources to help you.”

  She turned, heading towards the back of the room where a gigantic mirror was made into part of the wall. Waving her hand over the glass, her reflection was replaced by a scenic image. A small wooden shack sat in the center of a glen. A tiny stream trickled around it. Cows, sheep, and horses grazed off in the pasture.

  “Come with me, please.” She waved us forward and then stepped in. Ivy grinned, bounding up to hop into the dimension. The rest of us cautiously stepped in, as we had never seen such magic.

  “Welcome to my dimension, please come in,” Morgana called from the front door of the shack.

  The tiny building looked like it would collapse at any moment. The roof was made of thatch and cloth. The walls were merely thin logs tied together with twine. I doubted it even had the room for all eight of us to stand. Still, I led the group on. Stepping through the threshold, I paused as shock rippled through me. It was bigger on the inside!

  The room was four stories tall with floor to ceiling windows, and each level had a wrap around balcony. Bookshelves, priceless pieces of art, and other artifacts covered the wood-paneled walls. Birds and butterflies flew about. Standing in the center of the room, I could see entrances to other rooms. Just through the doorways, I could see a potions laboratory, a lounge, and to the right, the entrance to a large greenhouse. The place was massive.

  A portrait hung on one of the walls between bookshelves. It was about six feet tall and framed in intricately woven gold. Painted on the canvase was a woman, with white hair and expressive green eyes. At first glance, I would have sworn the depiction was Ivy, but I could see subtle differences in the face structure. This face was slightly narrower.

  “Da Vinci painted that for me,” Morgana said, suddenly standing beside me. It took a moment for my mind to fully comprehend what she was saying.

  “You knew him?” I gasped. Da Vinci was a great wizard, brave to experimentation, and a real man of science. He was my second favorite historical wizard.

  “Oh yes, he was quite fond of me, and I him.” She smiled.

  Turning, she climbed up one of the many ladders to one of the top shelves near the ceiling of the room. Taking out a thick codex, she dropped it, letting it fall the hundred feet or so down. Before it hit the ground, it hovered over the floor for a moment, stopping the momentum.

  “They have a protection spell on them. The book will evade any and all harm.” Ivy explained. Why had I never thought of that! That’s simple and brilliant.

  Once Morgana had thrown down ten books, that had now stacked themselves neatly into a pile, she descended the ladder.

  “Alright, here are all the resources I have.” Morgana started once she was on the floor again in front of us. “Most of these were written hundreds of years after Arthur lived and are mostly just mythological theories, but they’re worth a look.” Each member of the group took a couple of books.

  “If you get stuck, don’t be afraid to contact me, but as per the assignment, I am not allowed to give you the answers,” Morgana warned. We all nodded.

  “Alright, good luck on finals tomorrow, and I hope you all succeed.” She dismissed us.

  “Wait, why are we here?” Agatha asked. The descendant of the Lady of the Lake, Nimueh, had her hair dyed a neon blue. The color matched her thick blue eyeshadow and lipstick. Fairies were much different than any of the other creatures of Mythos. They were both humanoid and non-humanoid beings. They could take their human form, which mirrored the features of the humans from the geographical locations in which the particular fairy derived. They loved bright colors, so hair dye and makeup was their obsession. Her eyes were a shimmering teal blue and were the only sign that she was something other. They also had a fairy form in which they turned into the tiny pixie creature that movies and television depicted. In this form, they are much more powerful, but also much more fragile.

  “It’s just a feeling,” Morgana said, giving Agatha a pointed look. Just go with the flow, that’s what I always say, and the universe was flowing that way.

  “Alright then.” Agatha nodded. She turned to her team and then they left together, back out of the shack and towards the mirror that hovered in the field showing Morgana's office, back on Earth. I started to leave with them, but Morgana grabbed my arm discreetly. Ivy and Ryker didn’t move either.

  “And I have this, do not show this to the other team,” Morgana instructed, handing Ivy a rolled piece of parchment. Ivy started to pull
the ribbon that tied it together, but Morgana stopped her.

  “Don’t open it here, wait until you’re all somewhere private.” She instructed.

  “How do you know I can use it?” Ryker asked as Ivy and I turned to leave. He had been quiet since we started discussing the quest.

  “What do you mean, dear?” Morgana asked him, setting her hand on his shoulder.

  “Well, you said Arthur’s son couldn’t wield Excalibur, so how do you know I can?” He asked. Morgana gave him a long, thoughtful look. Her mouth set down into a contemplative frown as if she was sorting through information to figure out what exactly he needed to be told.

  “Well, I suppose I don’t.” She then answered honestly. “But it is still yours to find.” Ryker narrowed his eyes at her, his poor knight mind always questioning the complexities of the universe. With that, we said our goodbyes and left.

  I got a text to meet the other team in the library so we could discuss a plan. We rushed down the stairs of the tower and found an empty classroom to duck into. Ivy unrolled the scroll that Morgana had just given her. She held it out in front of her so both of us could stand on either side as we read it together. It was a poem.

  My Gallant Knight

  You, my gallant Knight, I share a secret with thee

  There is a danger, too much to see

  You, my gallant Knight, I wish the best

  For you now, there is a test.

  Quests, only, my gallant Knight can take

  Struggles, you, alone must make