“I came when the Seal was formed. Merlin sent me to the designated location and per my request, I was moved to this location,” Solomon replied.
“Where are we? I'm guessing Yemen. This place, or at least the structure above, appear to be made by the people of Sana but that culture was dead long before the Seal,” Sebastian said.
“Ah, that. I knew that even as an immortal wizard I would one day face death. My lover constructed this tomb for me. We always loved this cavern and would spend time here whenever the toils of our duties allowed us a moment of freedom. She should have been here as well, but her tomb was desecrated and destroyed decades after her death. When we decided to make the Seal, I made arrangements to be moved here in secret. I may not have been able to spend eternity with her but at least I could spend it with her memory,” Solomon told him.
“That's beautiful. I'm sorry you were separated from her,” Chelsea told him.
“It is a tragedy, but such is the way of life. Bodies are only shells and we will be reunited one day if not in this life then in the next,” he replied. “How much time has passed?”
“A lot. About eighteen centuries as best we can estimate. You're waking in the twenty-fourth century,” Sebastian told him.
Solomon looked confused.
“We have a lot to tell you. Things are complicated right now,” Chelsea told him.
“That's putting it mildly,” Sebastian agreed.
“Then we should talk. I do not want to appear rude, but do you have any food? I am quite famished,” Solomon asked.
“I am sorry, but we do not. We arrived here by accident and didn't expect to find you. We don't even know how to get out,” Sebastian told him.
“Then I shall lead you. There is a path that follows the river, eventually going up a steep path by an underground waterfall. It winds through the mountain and opens onto a valley. From there it is only a few days walk to the nearest village. Until then, we shall have to make do with nature's bounty,” Solomon told them.
He raised his hand towards the rodents and after a moment put it down. “I seem to have lost my power. Is magic truly dead then?”
“Not anymore but it was for a while. Your power will return slowly. It has been a pattern repeated with the other Masters. Until then, we can help you,” Sebastian said.
“You must remind me to thank your Master. Merlin was kind to provide his two strongest knights to aid me,” Solomon said.
“Uh, about that...we don't report to Merlin anymore. We should explain things,” Sebastian told him.
“Then explain you shall but until then, the rodents are edible. Would you mind?” Solomon asked him.
Sebastian complied and used a spell to kill several of the rodents. They field dressed them and skewered them on one of their swords and used magical fire to cook them. The three of them ate the rodents and drank water from the stream. After they were done, and Solomon had gotten his fill, they left down the path Solomon told them of and talked as they traveled. They explained as much as they could about the things Solomon had missed and their current situation.
“It would appear I missed a great deal. The methods may change but mankind's desire to wage war is never abated. I am deeply saddened that an artifice partially of my creation has caused such tragedy but that is the way of things. My intentions were pure, and I wonder if this beast had not altered the Seal if the results would have been the same. There is no reason to dwell upon that which cannot be changed. Life continues to move forward and so must we,” Solomon told them.
“Forgive me if I seem blunt but you seem much different in attitude towards the deaths of the Cataclysm. Many take responsibility. Merlin doesn't care at all. You seem like it's just another thing that happened,” Chelsea told him.
“The loss of life can and does affect me and likely more than you realize. I cannot change it and I cannot undo it. I can only take things as they are and accept that the past is done. Mistakes are a part of our nature as humans. We must learn from them without letting them destroy us. I will learn from the mistake, but I will not let it dominate my life. Time flows only forward, like the waters of the stream,” Solomon said.
“Now, the more interesting question is how and why you are here. Based on what you have told me I would conclude you did indeed teleport. It's not unheard for Masters to have that skill. All the new skills we learn are difficult at first and require practice which would be why you can't readily replicate it. I would suspect your emotional state powered it. Why are you here though? You said your thoughts dwelled on impartial advice. I am certainly impartial, but you barely knew me. Unlike the others, I was rarely at Camelot and had few opportunities to meet you much less become acquainted to the point you would seek my guidance,” Solomon told them.
“I guess you don't know about you. In our time, you're considered one of the wisest men in history. Your story is legendary,” Chelsea told him.
“I am honored to be thought of as such, but I am far from a legend. I am a simple man with a small degree of insight and have been known to share that insight,” Solomon said.
“Now that's a bit modest. The stories of King Solomon the Wise are well known,” Sebastian told him.
Solomon smiled. “So, they are. You have sought my council and I suspect you seek answers but what you really need are questions. Who are you?”
“Do you always talk in riddles?” asked Chelsea. “I'm Chelsea and this is Sebastian. I thought we covered introductions.”
Solomon stopped walking and sat on a stone along the stream's bank and motioned for them to do the same. He picked up another stone from the shore. He smashed it on a rock and broke it into pieces then picked one up one of the pieces. “This is a stone. Before that, it was part of another stone. Before that, it was sand and could again be broken up into sand. Is this stone what it is now, what it once was, what it may become or a fragment of the larger stone?”
Sebastian started to answer but Solomon motioned for him to stop. He then picked up the pieces of the stone along with some mud and pressed them together. “What is it now?” He smashed it on the ground again. “What is it now?”
“This is your part to answer,” he said to Sebastian.
“I get your point, but the problem is your analogy doesn't work. We're none of those things. We're all of them and none of them at the same time. You can see the fragments of the stone. You can see the shape and size of each one. You know what makes up the whole. We don't. We only see pieces of a few of our past lives at best and who we are now, what we are now, is affected by those fragments to some degree but not wholly,” Sebastian told him.
“Then you do not see what you see,” Solomon said as he picked up the stone pieces again and forced them together.
“Each fragment is there. You may only see a small piece of it, but the piece is still contained by the whole and helps to mold its final shape. Sometimes the edges stick out and sometimes the fragment is unseen at all, yet they are there. You are being shaped now. Some of the larger fragments, the stronger personalities if you will, are coming to the surface and shaping you. So again, I ask you who you are, but I know you cannot answer because the stone is not yet shaped.”
“I think I understand. We're all a collection of our past experiences and we're in an unusual situation that as more of them come to the surface, we continue to change. Even if we don't remember them outright, they are still there, buried deep down in the center but still shaping us,” Sebastian said.
“You understand partially. It is more than your lives and your experiences. It is also your powers and abilities. You grow stronger as you began to grow into your role. It is not only your past lives that shape you but your past powers. How many skills have you learned in your past? How many things do you know? Buried somewhere inside you is all that knowledge and power. You may even have crossed the threshold of death and became Masters but that is not an easy thing to ascertain,” Solomon told them.
“Maybe except for the part about b
eing Masters. We're not Masters. I've seen what they can do and that's not us. Power doesn't shape people anyway. Character is the measure of a person,” Chelsea said.
“This is true for those without power. For those with power, they are shaped by that as much as by their attitude. Every time you take an action you must gauge how to take that action. You observe a man steal a satchel of coins. He runs but is noticed and the local authorities give chase. You can intervene in numerous ways. You could make him fall so he is caught. You could kill him outright. You could ravage his mind to take away his desire to steal. You could help him by stopping the pursuit or even killing the pursuers. Those actions all create other actions, and each has an impact on you. The greater the action the greater the impact. Tripping the man would have little impact but what if you used your power to reshape the man's will and create a new person? By one act you have taken a life and created a new one. How would that shape you?”
“You have told me of many extraordinary things you have done and even what an extraordinary thing you are to be reborn and deny death its hold on you. You may not see it yet, but I do, and I suspect the other Masters do as well, at least those with the ability to see, that you may already have ascended,” Solomon said.
“But I would not ask you to simply take my word. Let's examine you. By your own admission, you have shown the ability to teleport, use telepathy, your bodies have come back from things that would kill mortals, you can use common magic at levels far beyond what any normal mage could do, are these not the things Masters can do?” asked Solomon.
“It doesn't make sense. If we were Masters we would know,” Chelsea said.
“Would you? What marks a Master? Other than having a greater access to magic and being more physically resilient, we are still just men. You may not be. There is no definitive way of knowing. The only true test is time and you are both young. To know if you have shed the mortal coil will take many years. For now, it is a question of little importance. What you are, to use your own term, is a vanguard against the darkness. You know what you are, but you do not know who you are. Alexander once shared a book with me that he was quite fond of. There is a passage from it about knowing your enemy and yourself. You know your enemy but do not know yourself. You need to find out who you are,” Solomon said.
“Who you are is of paramount importance. You must find yourself. Somewhere, amongst the mix of all your various lives are your true selves. Until you know this, you will be pulled in many directions and be of many minds. You need to find the components of your stone,” Solomon told them.
“You're right about being pulled in many directions. There is so much going on that it feels like we never finish one thing before we are forced into something else. I find myself telling my people far too often that something will have to be pushed to the side for whatever new thing has come up. It hasn't even been a year since the Seal was broken and the world has changed dramatically and us along with it. There simply hasn't been enough time to find out who we are. There are just too many things that require our attention,” Chelsea said, sounding distraught.
“You have many people under your command that you trust. They are not only your generals but your friends. Let them shoulder some of your burdens. You have many skills, but it seems delegation is not one of them. When I was a king, I was also pulled in many directions. The burden of leadership includes a plethora of responsibilities and not all of them must be handled directly. You came to me for wisdom and answers. I cannot give you the answer you truly need but I can give you some advice, one monarch to another. Stop leading for a time. Find yourselves. Trust in your commanders to command and find who you are. Find the shape of your stone,” the old man said as if giving an order.
“When I was troubled, and my kingdom often came with troubles, I would find small amounts of time to free myself from burdens. Many times, I came here and would spend time with Sheba walking the cavern behind us. In those quiet walks in the twilight, I would find myself in the calm of the darkness and my crown seemed to weigh less. You should take a walk. Find your cavern. The world will continue to turn in your absence,” Solomon told them.
“We have so much responsibility. So many things require our attention. We can't just walk away,” Chelsea replied.
“Let's do it,” said Sebastian. “Let the Field Marshalls run the Vanguard for a while. Mordred is quiet since Tokyo. Since we first became a couple, we have never taken time to relax. Sure, we've had brief moments here and there, but we haven't really stopped. Before the Seal, we were always training or hunting. Since the Seal broke, with our powers growing, the Masters returning, the fight against the ALF, the hunt for Mordred and everything else we're dealing with, we haven't stopped. Bruce and Bethany found time to have a baby. Boudicca and Trish have found time to build a solid relationship from scratch. Everyone goes on with their lives except for us. We've lived only for the fight and I'm tired of it. I want to live for us for a little while,” he said.
“Solomon, can we count you among our generals?” Sebastian asked him without waiting for Chelsea to reply.
“I am sorry, but no. As I told Merlin during his fight with Mordred, my days of war are behind me. What you have told me of this new world is amazing and I wish to travel it and discover it. If you find a peaceful solution, I will be happy to help you broker it, but I will not fight,” Solomon told them.
“We'll make sure you have no issues with that. We'll get you the necessary documentation to allow you to travel freely and give you the currency necessary to do so. We'll also teach you to access the public databanks, so you can have information readily available,” Chelsea told him.
“That is appreciated but not necessary. I am quite capable of making my own way,” he told them.
“Nonsense. You've been very gracious and provided us with your insight and wisdom and that is a debt we can't repay. We can at least help you with your desire to travel the new world,” Chelsea told him.
“Would you mind a short stay at Camelot while we arrange it?”
“I would be honored,” Solomon replied. “Where will you go once you leave?”
“We're going to Rio and then Vegas and then Avalon,” said Chelsea without hesitation.
“I do not know those places,” said Solomon.
“And who knows where else. I don't know how long we'll be gone but you're right, we need to find ourselves and we're not going to do that if we don't slow down. Thank you, Solomon,” Sebastian said.
“You are most welcome friends. Now, we should arrange a ship to Britannia,” Solomon said.
“I think I have a faster route,” Chelsea said.
“Vanguard HQ, this is Vice Marshall Chelsea. Can we get a shuttle dispatched to my location?” She paused a moment.
“No, your readings are correct. We're in Yemen,” she said and paused again.
“Okay. Thank you, Lt. Mavis,” Field Marshall Chelsea out.
“Shuttle is in route. ETA 30 minutes,” Chelsea said.
#
“They're using communications embedded in the 800 MHz to 900 MHz range,” Director Thomas told the people on the video conference. “That explains why we didn't find it before. Those frequencies haven't been used in centuries. They were phased out just before WWIII. They hide their transmissions in the normal clutter of the transmission satellites. It was ignored at first. The engineers who run the global communications network thought it was just atmospheric interference caused by all the volcanic eruptions after the cataclysm. The good news is, while it was hard to find, the method is easily intercepted and their encryption, while sophisticated, was easy to crack.”
“Finally, some good news,” said General Morrison. “Do we have anything we can use to track them? After Tokyo, they've gone to ground.”
“We will soon. We cracked their encryption and found multiple layers of code. Each one we decoded revealed another. Eventually, we got to the raw text and that's further problematic because they use a code we can't seem to cra
ck. Eventually, we'll get it,” Director Thomas told them.
“I'll get my intelligence people working on it in conjunction with yours. The more people we have on this, the faster we might figure it out,” General Morrison said.
“I'll get UniGov Intelligence on this as well,” President Yassim told them. Both General Morrison and Director Thomas seemed uneasy at her decision.
“Is something wrong?” the President asked them.
“No one likes your black ops people. They don't work well with others and are more likely to keep secrets than share information,” General Morrison told her.
“He's right. The General's people and mine are bad enough with keeping secrets. We'll work together but we don't need the help of the Blackbirds,” Director Thomas told her.
“This isn't an option. They'll play nice. I'll see to it personally. If either of you has any problems or suspect they're not completely forthcoming with any information then you tell me, and I'll fix it,” she told them.
“I'll get Samantha on it as well. I don't know how she is with code but she's damn good with computers and math and she might be able to write a formula or something. I'll check with Bethany also. She's our go-to for anything language related but I won't let this impact the health and well-being of either her or the baby,” Lord Marshall Sebastian told them.
“Thank you, Lord Marshall, but they won't be needed. This isn't something an algorithm can fix and it's not an ancient language. We've already run this through the computers and there is no mathematical pattern and the language they use is modern. It's just gibberish until we figure out their context,” Director Thomas told him.
“If there is no other business then let's adjourn. I have a full schedule and need to get to a cabinet meeting,” President Yassim told them. She waited a moment and when no one said anything her screen went blank.
“There isn't much we can do here. This isn't really Vanguard territory. I appreciate you keeping us up to speed and if you get the actionable intelligence we're at the ready. Thank you for keeping us in the loop,” Vice Marshall Chelsea said and cut their screen.
The Vanguard Page 25
