The King's Ancestors

by Robin Simmons

  An audible groan could be heard to escape from Andrew’s lips and Samuel glanced that way but when nothing more was said he continued; “Candice and I examined Merry and discovered that she was aging prematurely. The rest of us were ok, it seemed only the time shifter was affected. We still don’t fully understand why a time shifter ages when they shift time, but we believe it has something to do with the time residue remaining in her body after time manipulation. The reason this had been missed in the previous experiments, was a time shift could only be in the realm of ten to fifteen years. So little aging took place in those kinds of jumps and no one noticed any effect. We did not have time to thoroughly check Merry after the eighty year jump before we came here. A jump as great as what we have done is aging Merry at a very fast rate.”

  Raven looked at Lorriel and for the first time noticed some gray hair showing in streaks here and there.

  His heart sank as he turned to Merry and asked, “How old are you now?”

  Merry did not hesitate and answered truthfully, “I am thirty-one years old. When I found out I was aging, Uriah and I married right away and tried to have a child. We thank God that he gave us Nathan before I passed child bearing age,” as she hugged the child she was holding.

  “How long do you have?” Raven asked.

  “We are not sure,” Samuel answered. “But the best estimate is less than ten more years.”

  Raven noticed the effect those words had on Uriah, he turned his head away at Samuel’s statement.

  “Is there nothing you can do for her?” Raven asked.

  Samuel shook his head, “We still do not know all the parameters involved in this aging process. Since every time shifter’s body is different the aging should take place at different rates for each person, for the time shifting ability comes from something they alone possess. I do not believe it is a constant, but every time shifter who travels a great distance will age at an accelerated rate.”

  They all looked at Lorriel and she stood there very calmly as everyone stared.

  “I can’t believe Andronicus did not tell you of this danger before you came here,” Merry stated. “He knew what long distance time travel would do to the time shifter.”

  Lorriel replied calmly, “He did tell me before we left and tried to dissuade me from this venture, but told me the choice was mine.”

  “He should have told us all,” Raven said with anger rising in his veins.

  Andrew turned to Lorriel and said broken heartedly, “Why did you not talk to me about this first?”

  Uriah winced at Andrew’s words for he himself alone knew what Andrew must be going through at that moment.

  Lorriel answered very softly, “You did not ask me what I thought when you went to war, or when you grabbed the twainlar serpent to save Raven. You would give your life for the kingdom and others without asking my permission, and that is how it should be. Why should it be any different for me? Rebekka walked down and gave herself to the enemy to give us a chance to save the kingdom. Should I not sacrifice a portion of my life to save us if it were possible? Should I make Rebekka’s sacrifice vain because I did not want to give up a little of myself?”

  Lorriel crossed her arms and looked at them all defiantly. Andrew said no more, but reached out and pulled Lorriel to him and held her in a tight embrace. Joanna had tears in her eyes, and all of them were distraught at this news.

  Raven turned to Samuel and asked, “How long does Lorriel have?”

  “Probably ten to twenty years after she returns back to your time is my guess,” Samuel said sadly.

  Now Merry spoke up, “If I had to do it all over again knowing I would age as I have done, I would. I would for the sake of all those who came with us, and (she looked at the four travelers) for those who would come after us.”

  There was silence for a while for there was no more to be said about what Lorriel had done.

  Uriah then spoke, “You see why Merry should not travel in time again, we don’t know what that will do to her now. I also believe that weapons are not the answer to defeating Layton. Making the playing field even with Layton will never give you victory over him, history has proven that to be true. I know that Merry would go back to get the weapons if we asked her to, regardless of what that would do to her. She would also go if you asked her to do so, so I beseech you as our descendant not to ask.”

  Raven looked at Lorriel and the gray streaks in her hair and then back to Merry and the little child she held and decided at that moment he would never ask Merry Sheldon Kallestor to shorten her life any further.

  Raven looked at Uriah and nodded, “I will not, but please give us some time alone,” motioning to Lorriel, Andrew, and Joanna.

  When they were alone Raven looked at his sister and said, “You should have told us before you time shifted to here.”

  “Would it have made any difference?” Lorriel asked. “We would only have wasted time trying to find other options that we do not have. Why should I not sacrifice something? All of you have made sacrifices at one time or another for Glenfair. And you know that I could not live with myself if I did not time shift, especially knowing what Rebekka did for us.”

  Raven’s heart ached at her words but he knew they were the truth. He felt like he had failed somehow as their king, for he failed to protect them. And if he could not protect the ones he loved dearest, what made him think he could be a king for all of Glenfair. Jerddin had been killed and Rebekka taken because he had underestimated the enemy, and now Lorriel would age and die sooner than she should by bringing them all here and having to take them back. Raven suffered with these realizations as a true king would do for his people. Even though it was beyond his control to stop these events, he was none the less absolved of the guilt of not being able to prevent their occurrence. He was their king and he would have traded places with any of them if he could.

  Raven looked at Lorriel, Andrew and Joanna and stated, “What is done is done. We cannot focus on that now for we must find a solution to our dilemma before we can return.”

  Just then Daniel Brickens called the meeting together again to continue with trying to find a solution that would help Raven and those with him. They toiled the rest of the morning and into the afternoon with the ancients to no avail. Finally Daniel Brickens dismissed the assembly to return home to Raven’s disappointment.

  Daniel came over to Raven and stated to him, “I am sorry we have found no solution for our problem. You should let us face Layton for he is really our problem.”

  “I cannot do that,” replied Raven, “I have already told you, your battle is also ours. We must try somehow to stop him in our time.”

  As they were about to part ways Daniel spoke again, “Tell me King Raven, something I must know about the kings who will come after me. You said that in your time a king only rules by the will of the people. Did the Brickens become unworthy to rule, is that why Uriah’s line is now king of Glenfair?”

  Raven could see this really bothered Daniel and could also see that the man had made a sincere commitment as king of Glenfair and wanted it to be so for many generations.

  Raven smiled at Daniel and placed his hand upon his shoulder and answered, “The Brickens' line of kings were most noble, and will set precedence for six hundred years upon the throne. A bastion of example for all those who rule after them. Only by external circumstances and tragedy an heir was not found for the throne, or there would be a Brickens ruling to this day!”

  Daniel smiled at this and said, “I have learned so much from you King Raven of what a king should be. I will write the sayings and wisdom I have found this day as king so the generations to follow may read them. They shall be reminded what it means to be king, and noble and upright for the good of all of Glenfair.”

  Raven just smiled to himself and thought, “So that is how the Chronicles of the Ancients began.”

  Daniel then concluded, “Stay with us for a few days, a solution may yet be found.” H
e then left to attend the departing guests.

  As Raven walked to join the rest of his group, Uriah, Amnon, Merry, and Samuel intercepted him.

  “We have decided,” Uriah spoke for the group, “that we will stay with you until you depart. We don’t want to give up just yet on finding a solution.

  Amnon spoke as well, “I have been insensitive and hard hearted about your plight. With you sharing that my descendant has been taken hostage by Layton, I realized how I stood aloof from your problem and the pain you must feel. I can no longer believe that I am not involved, we all are, and I would like to thank you for fighting unselfishly for us.”

  Raven smiled at Amnon and seeing his change of heart held out his hand to be shook by Amnon. They then all walked to join Lorriel, Andrew, and Joanna waiting at the far end of the great hall.

  Merry spoke to them when they were all together, “I am sorry we have not found a solution yet but we want to keep trying.”

  “We should all take a break for the rest of the day to allow us some time to organize our thoughts better,” stated Samuel. “Tomorrow things will seem brighter and maybe we will find an answer.” They all agreed and went to wander about the castle thinking about the things that had transpired that day.

  That night Raven had trouble sleeping, he wanted desperately to hear Rebekka’s voice in his mind but there was nothing, just the quietness and blackness that comes when you empty your mind of all thoughts. Raven began to wonder if the voice he had heard the night before was real like he wanted to believe it was, or just his urgent wish to hear Rebekka. It had to be real, Raven thought, for I did not wish for it, it came of its own accord, or did I wish for it subconsciously? These thoughts plagued Raven until he finally fell asleep.

  We as human beings think we see simple solutions to other people’s problems. But when they are our own they do not seem so simple. We do not know the infinite possibilities for every action, therefore we cannot claim to know the absolute decision to be made when time travel is involved. Anyone could probably think right now of many different ways to solve the problem our dear friends have gotten themselves into. They could go back in time to change this or that so Layton Teal would not find anything useful and leave, or ways for them to get the weapons they need for the confrontation with Layton. I digress, for I am only telling the story as it happened, not what Raven and his friends should or should not have done. For they believed one should focus on solving the problems of the present without going back to change immediate past mistakes. Whether this was a good philosophy or not is debatable, but it is the path they took for themselves and I believe it to be the one I myself would also choose. Their trip to the ancients was not to change the past, but to learn of a way to deal with the enemy of their present. But the reality was far different than their intentions. They did change the past greatly, but for the good of the kingdom without purposefully setting out to do so. They accomplished this by their willing attitude to sacrifice for the good of others and the kingdom. Their impact did not change their problem with Layton Teal, but did set in motion the foundation for the great kingdom of Glenfair to become what it was....

  The next day at breakfast there was little talking, each one of them was deep in thought about what to do about Layton Teal. Raven himself was a little depressed from the lack of progress they were unable to make. The long night thinking about Rebekka, no closer to a solution than when they came, and the ancients not being what he expected, added to his deepening melancholy. When Raven lifted his eyes from his food to look around the table he noticed for the first time that Merry and Samuel were not present. Uriah and Amnon were there eating and talking and discussing matters when Samuel burst into the great hall running as Merry walked at a fast pace not far behind. Everyone stopped eating and stared at the excited Samuel.

  “There may be a way to help our descendants,” Samuel said excitedly. “Andrew mentioned something to me before I retired last night that reminded me of some research I conducted before we time shifted to here.” Samuel paused expecting everyone to be excited as he was but there was silence.

  Finally Daniel Brickens said plainly, “We are all waiting to hear what you have found Samuel.”

  When Samuel realized that he had not shared anything of real value, he looked sheepish and said, “Yes, yes, umm you all know that a time shifter controls time.”

  They all nodded and still waited for more than what they all knew to be true already.

  “Well, I have never told you the real reason I made the isolinear resonating stones. It was to control time within the circumference of the stones, not to travel great distances in time. That was an accidental discovery. All my first research was forgotten when we discovered what the stones could do for the time shifter and all of us. When Andrew asked me if the stones could be used as a weapon I remembered all the previous research I had done before the stones brought us here.”

  “How,” Daniel asked, “can the stones be a weapon?”

  “Not a real weapon,” Samuel replied, “but an ally of time during a battle. Anything within the perimeter of the stones can be slowed down or speeded up without traveling through time or space like we have.”

  “Can that really be done?” Andrew asked, excited for the first time that something might help them.

  “Theoretically, yes,” Samuel said tentatively, “but the theory has never been tested.”

  This deflated everyone except Andrew who motioned for Samuel to come and sit with him and have breakfast. Samuel sat down and they began to converse excitedly.

  Merry also came and sat with Uriah and smiling at Raven’s perplexed stare at Samuel and Andrew said, “Samuel really gets excited about his work. We owe him much for his discovery.”

  Uriah just scowled and grumbled something unintelligible.

  “Now Uriah,” Merry chided, “you know we owe Samuel our very existence here.”

  “Yeah,” Uriah said sarcastically, “your shortened existence, and another Kallestor’s life will be shortened by the stones as well.”

  Merry was silent for a moment and then spoke so softly it could barely be heard, “You would have me live a long life as Layton’s wife and have his children?”

  Uriah closed his eyes and sighed, his demeanor softening. “No,” he said almost as softly. “I am grateful for what Samuel has enabled us to do, even if it is for only a short time. I just can’t help but be angry at what the stones have done to you, and now Lorriel will suffer as well. No matter how you look at things, someone has to pay a price when Father Time is bargained with, and his dues are very costly.”

  Raven could now see that Uriah was not really upset with anyone in particular, just upset at a plight that could not be altered or changed. Raven knew how frustrating it could be to feel powerless to avoid personal loss. It had happened several times to him in his life. First with his brother Edward’s death, followed by his father, and now Rebekka taken from him. Raven smiled as he saw Uriah take Merry’s hand in his and settle back down into the reality of the joy they had now, regardless of how long it would last. Raven knew too that God was not overly cruel. And if a person would only look and acknowledge the facts about him, he would see that for every tragedy there was more than double the blessings in life. In fact he knew that to be the key to enjoying life to its fullest. Not focusing on tragedy, failure, pain and suffering, but upon the blessings God sent every day. By seeing those blessings and thanking the Almighty for giving a greater ratio of good than evil during our earthly habitation, One could at least be content. Those thoughts lifted Raven from his depression and focused him on that task at hand. There was hope in Raven’s heart, for there are times one must believe against all reason that good for its very existence will ultimately triumph over evil.

  When breakfast was over the Kallestors and Crestlaws met to discuss what Samuel was so excited about. As they gathered around him he began to explain his theory:

  “The isolinear resonating stones ampli
fy the time shifters ability to manipulate the temporal effects of time and matter within the perimeter of the stones, allowing more mass and material to be transported with the time shifter. Now if the time shifter is the catalyst for all that takes place within the circumference of the stones, then the time shifter should also be able to manipulate any mass or matter within that perimeter as well without affecting the time frame of any other object within that perimeter.”

  Samuel stopped talking and motioned with his hands making wide circles in a manner that said they should all understand perfectly what he was trying to say.

  Andrew then spoke excitedly, “What Samuel is trying to say is the time shifter should be able to slow down or speed up any object within the circle of the stones without traveling in time themselves.”