The Universe Parallel

by Traci Harding

  ‘Of course,’ the governor concurred. ‘It makes perfect sense that if science is the religion on Maladaan, then the Merlin would incarnate as a scientist.’

  Lord Avery nodded, then he and the governor turned back to Telmo, smiling like long-lost friends.

  Telmo was bemused; how did one keep these people on topic? ‘Can we please discuss Maladaan’s plight?’

  ‘We should take him to En Noah,’ Rhun suggested.

  ‘Oh, yeah,’ the Lord of the Otherworld quite agreed.

  Noah Purcell loved his annual holiday: it was his time to escape his governmental obligations and his teaching duties at the Purcell Institute of Immortal History — which he’d founded shortly after the arrival of the Chosen Ones on Kila. During his summer break, Noah endeavoured to just enjoy being — being with his wife, being with nature, being with his thoughts, imagination and memories.

  His retreat was a lake house that was situated in a forest on the outermost reaches of Chailida city. No one disturbed him here, he could clear his head and his thoughts were all his own.

  As he reclined on his balcony, gazing over the water to the trees that bordered the shoreline of the lake, he found himself, as he often did here, reminiscing about old times, when he’d kept the company of Maelgwn Gwynedd and Tory Alexander. He missed them more with every day that passed — the past one hundred years had seemed like one thousand without them. His time to join the Grigori was drawing nearer; his want to join with his soul group was becoming stronger than his will to stay in this earthly incarnation.

  Unfortunately for Noah, his other half, Rebecca, did not feel the same. Her call to earthly service was still strong and because Noah loved her most of all, he stayed in his Chosen form and silently yearned for the day when they would rise into the ranks of the Grigori.

  The chime of his front door near startled Noah right off his chair. ‘Who could that be?’ He moved to investigate, knowing it wasn’t his wife, as she was not due to join him for a week or so yet, and as Noah cherished his time alone he really didn’t welcome the thought of unexpected guests.

  The historian was stunned to be greeted by his governor and the Lord of the Otherworld supporting another young fellow who seemed vaguely familiar to him — although he was not one of the Chosen.

  ‘Our deepest apologies for disturbing your holiday, En Noah, but we’ve had a small crisis erupt in your absence and we could really use your advice,’ Rhun explained.

  ‘Of course, come inside.’ Noah snapped out of his stunned, perplexed state and moved aside so that the trio could enter.

  ‘I cannot believe that you just thought us here,’ the young man was mumbling.

  As one of the Chosen, Noah understood the words as easily as any other foreign tongue, although the man spoke a strange dialect he had never heard before.

  ‘Whoa, nice place!’ the young stranger, high on the moment, commented as he was guided past Noah.

  The lake house itself was entirely circular and it sat out on the lake at the end of a long jetty, awarding stunning views of the natural paradise outside.

  ‘I’m pleased you approve.’ Noah accepted the praise, employing the lad’s native language.

  ‘You might want to submerge for this conversation, En Noah,’ Rhun suggested, and Noah moved to a telepathic control panel on the wall to do so.

  The lake house had been constructed so that it could move down a vertical track that dropped to the floor of the lake from the end of the long jetty, keeping the house cool during the hottest days of the year. This also rendered the dwelling unaccessible to anyone who could not teleport. The disk-shaped dwelling was only attached to the jetty, and its vertical track, at the entrance point. The unique shape was easily sealed up, and lent itself to both a stable descent and ascent.

  ‘This sounds rather serious,’ En Noah commented as the slanted windows around the upper level manifested to seal all breaches before they submerged.

  ‘This is just fantastic.’ The mysterious guest had found his own two feet and was wandering towards a window to watch as the lake house submerged.

  ‘Who is our young visitor?’ Noah queried of his governor.

  ‘This is Telmo Dacre, envoy from the planet Maladaan,’ Rhun answered, knowing the information would raise even more questions.

  ‘I think I had better make some tea.’ Noah sensed this was going to be a long consultation and moved towards the kitchen. ‘Strange then, that his energy seems so familiar?’

  ‘Not really,’ Avery said, enjoying the fun and games their new arrival was causing. ‘His soul-mind is an old, old friend of yours.’

  Their young visitor was distracted from his sightseeing and turned to the governor and his brother to query, ‘Who is this Taliesin, anyway?’

  Waves of warm shock passed through Noah’s body at the mention of the name. He stopped short of leaving the room and turned back to look over his guest once more.

  Upon uttering the name Telmo became giddy on his feet and collapsed into the closest chair.

  Taliesin had been a guardian and Time Lord back on Earth and Noah’s mentor in many a lifetime, including his present incarnation. The historian had never thought to see the time-hopping demi-god again in this life and especially not in the form of one so young!

  Telmo’s sights were focused on the floor and it appeared as if his thoughts had turned inward. ‘In my mind I see a place with many halls, lined with myriad strange warlike costumes … there are many doors, and halls and stairs —’

  ‘Taliesin’s Labyrinth,’ Noah, Avery and Rhun concurred at once.

  ‘Okay … now I am really curious.’ Noah forgot about going through the motions of making tea and simply willed a tray of tea to manifest on the table as he moved into the living area to join his guests. ‘Tell me about Maladaan.’

  As Rhun and Avery brought Noah up to speed, Telmo seemed to be gleaning a lot from the briefing also and sat quietly absorbing everything being said.

  ‘So, we were hoping you might be able to consult the Tablet of Destinies with regard to how we might return Maladaan to its rightful universe and timeframe,’ the governor concluded.

  Noah, who was still overwhelmed by the enormity of their woes, finally found his tongue. ‘Of course, Governor … but as always, I can only give you my interpretation of the Tablet’s visions, I cannot promise a definite answer.’

  ‘I understand,’ Rhun concurred, eager to know the Tablet’s advice all the same.

  ‘May I ask a question?’ Telmo piped up. ‘Who are the Grigori? If they deposited our planet in this system, can they not return it to its own?’

  ‘That is a very good question,’ Avery agreed, ‘but the Grigori are what we refer to as causal beings; they serve the intentions of their soul-minds in the physical realm, but can only place the opportunities to serve our will before us. It is up to us, in the physical world, to seize those chances and bring about our desires, for only we have influence in the physical world. The Grigori have no sway over physical world events, which is why they needed the aid of the Otherworldly elemental forces I command in order to place Maladaan safely into orbit around our sun … for I am the ruler of the realms that exist between the physical and the causal realms of existence.’

  Telmo’s jaw was gaping by the time the Lord finished his explanation. ‘I’m almost scared to ask what the “Tablet of Destinies” is?’ Then Telmo became wide-eyed. ‘Is it a necklace? With a small three-sided pyramid attached?’

  Noah smiled and from within his shirt he exposed the item described and held it up to view via the chain.

  ‘Now I’m really scaring myself.’ Telmo went pale as he moved to view it more closely.

  To those present it was no great surprise that Telmo recognised the divining tool, as Taliesin had been the guardian of the treasure for eons, but all refrained from saying so.

  ‘How is that little trinket going to solve Maladaan’s problems?’ Telmo appeared to doubt the sanity of his hosts.

  ‘Thi
s trinket is far more than it seems.’ Noah detached the small golden pyramid from the chain and held it out to the scientist. ‘Want a closer look?’

  ‘May I?’ Telmo held out his hand, but as the historian dropped the item into his palm, the seemingly solid object made Telmo gasp as it passed right through his hand and En Noah caught it up before it dropped to the floor.

  ‘It is attuned to my personal sonic,’ Noah explained, ‘and can only be held, used or viewed by me.’

  Telmo’s eyes opened wide as he vagued out for a moment. ‘Does it unfold?’

  Noah smiled to confirm the young man’s ancient recall. ‘It does indeed. But first, if you would be so kind, I need you to bring to mind an image of your planet.’

  ‘All right.’ Telmo did as requested and Noah held the palm of his hand to Telmo’s forehead to retrieve the image from him.

  A clear image of a planet covered in grey land mass and green oceans, shrouded by a smog-filled cloud, came to mind and Noah felt the treasure in the palm of his hand begin to vibrate.

  The pyramid floated up from En Noah’s palm and began to spin around in midair. The treasure expanded and began exuding light through the golden hieroglyphs depicted on all four surfaces of the three-sided pyramid. In a burst of brilliant light the Tablet of Destinies opened and the three upright sides of the pyramid fell flat to the base to form one large triangle. A different image could be viewed by Noah within each of the four triangles on the Tablet, which was positioned pinnacle upright before its keeper.

  Noah noted their curious visitor edging around behind him to observe, but all that he would see would be the vast amount of light that the divining tool was emitting.

  ‘What do you see, En Noah?’ Rhun queried eagerly, as Telmo returned to his seat.

  ‘One moment,’ Noah begged his governor’s patience, as he wanted to observe the images and choose his words carefully. ‘Upon the triangle in the centre of the arrangement is, of course, an image of Maladaan, the cause of our concern.’

  ‘That goes without saying.’ Avery wound his hand in the air, impatiently.

  ‘In the lower-left segment that depicts the best that can result of our concern, I see —’ Noah had to look twice, not trusting his first impression, but upon long, hard contemplation he had to bow to his first instinct, which brought a huge smile to his face.

  ‘What do you see?’ Rhun was dying of curiosity.

  ‘I see …’ Noah tucked his head to one side, still hesitant to convey his perception.

  ‘What?’ Avery stressed in support of his brother.

  ‘I see a dark-haired incarnation of your mother, being cheered by an enormous crowd of people.’

  ‘Why?’ Rhun queried.

  ‘I cannot tell, but it is the largest assembly of people I have ever seen, that are paying her homage.’ Noah shrugged. ‘I cannot glean any more from that.’

  ‘Then move on,’ Rhun granted. ‘What vision is in the section of the Tablet that depicts the worst that can result from our concern?’

  As Noah viewed the vision there, the joy left his face and he fell sombre.

  ‘What is it?’ The governor was concerned, for this section of the Tablet was never very heartening.

  ‘The woman I envisioned in the last section is crying her eyes out, she’s saying …’ He paused to listen. ‘“I’ll lose everything I’ve achieved, and I must relinquish my love or see him perish like the others!”’

  ‘That seems to confirm what the Grigori told me,’ Avery commented to Rhun, who nodded, pleased about that.

  ‘What did the Grigori say?’ Noah was distracted from his soothsaying.

  ‘We’ll inform you presently, but please stay focused on the Tablet for now,’ Rhun requested. ‘What does the segment show that depicts the outcome if no action is taken?’ The governor winced as he asked — clearly he had a premonition of his own.

  Noah looked back at the large glowing tablet before him, focusing on the triangle that crowned the other three at the top of the pyramid and Noah tried not to gasp as he saw aircraft unfamiliar to him attacking Chailida.

  ‘That’s what I thought,’ Rhun concluded, once Noah conveyed his impression.

  The Tablet of Destinies shrank and folded back into its dormant form, whereby Noah again attached the piece to the chain around his neck.

  ‘So, En Noah, what do you derive from all that?’ Rhun asked his cosmological advisor.

  From what the historian had seen in the Tablet, he knew the governor and his brother had not told him everything they knew about the arrival of Maladaan and he smiled warily. ‘I think you had better find the woman I described to you … which brings us back to what the Grigori said, am I right?’

  ‘Indeed.’ Rhun smiled as it would be welcome news for En Noah who’d been so very close to Rhun’s parents during their lifetimes on Earth and beyond. ‘The Grigori claim they are sending back the soul-minds of our parents to us.’ Rhun referred to Avery as his source.

  Noah’s heart rate quickened at the news, he’d not been this excited about anything for decades and he could not repress his joy. ‘Well then, there lies your solution, gentlemen. My feeling is that this woman holds the key to the answers we seek; we must focus all our efforts on finding her.’

  Rhun winced again. ‘Well there is a slight problem in that, so far as we know, Taren Lennox —’ Rhun named the woman for Noah’s benefit, ‘— is still back in Maladaan’s universe of origin.’

  ‘But if the Grigori have said they are speeding these souls back to us,’ Noah reasoned, inspired by the notion, ‘then you must trust their word.’

  ‘These people won’t even know me,’ Rhun finally let loose with a little reason. ‘They now belong to an entirely different universal scheme!’

  ‘I know you,’ Telmo spoke up. ‘I don’t know how,’ he admitted, ‘but I recognise you all, and your city. I even have memories of times we spent on a much darker planet than this. So, if I can recognise you on some deep subconscious level, then maybe Taren Lennox will too.’

  ‘Well said, Mr Dacre,’ Noah seconded his notion and looked back to his governor. ‘You just need to have a little faith and patience … or have you forgotten how to trust in the universe?’

  Rhun scrunched his nose, unsatisfied; he wanted answers now, not when the universe felt ready to oblige: a catastrophe could erupt in the interim. ‘You saw what was predicted in the Tablet if we do nothing, and sitting around waiting for someone to appear is the same thing!’

  ‘Patience …’ En Noah recalled an ancient proverb, ‘… is a tree with bitter roots … but sweet fruits.’ He raised both brows in conclusion. ‘The Grigori are compelled to do our bidding, so I feel sure your wait will not be a long one.’

  Rhun nodded, thankful for the historian’s confidence and positive reinforcement. ‘All the same,’ Rhun looked Avery’s way, ‘I’d like you to seek the Grigori and see if they can be a bit more specific about where and when we might find this woman.’

  ‘I can try,’ Avery didn’t look as confident as he usually did, ‘but the Grigori are causal beings and have very little sense of time.’

  ‘Find out what you can,’ Rhun insisted. ‘Meantime, we’ll get a supply shipment organised for Maladaan and see how long we can keep the peace.’

  All the men from Kila in the room nodded to concur that their discussion was at an end and all their queries had been met.

  ‘I wish to stay on Kila,’ Telmo blurted out, as if even he didn’t expect to be making the announcement so soon.

  ‘With your superior in the healing temple, I expected you would,’ Rhun concurred.

  ‘I think Telmo meant permanently,’ Avery advised his brother who looked to the young scientist, who nodded meekly to confirm.

  ‘Your president is going to think I am brainwashing all his people!’ Rhun was beginning to see how the dispute between their planets might get started.

  ‘But an extended leave of stay will suffice.’ Telmo obviously didn’t want to be the cau
se of any problems. ‘I should go and see how the chief is faring and report back to President Tallak.’ Since being reminded of his responsibilities they began to weigh on him.

  ‘I shall see you there,’ Avery volunteered.

  ‘Sorry again to have interrupted your holiday, En Noah,’ Rhun shook his hand in leaving.

  ‘I should have been insulted to have been left out of the loop on this one, Governor,’ Noah assured him. ‘You will keep me informed?’

  ‘If I find them,’ Rhun vowed, ‘you shall be the first person to know.’

  Once the governor and his company had made themselves scarce, Noah returned the lake house to the surface of the lake and stood gazing out at the evening sunset. ‘They’re coming back …’ he uttered to himself in a daze and then felt compelled to shout out his exultation, ‘The Dragon returns!’ The notion filled him with expectation of the new experiences in store for him, for if there were a patron god and goddess of adventure, they would be Maelgwn Gwynedd and Tory Alexander.

  When Zelimir Ronan awoke, he was none too happy to find himself trapped back inside his overweight, fragile form. He felt squashed in — like he was wearing a head-to-toe girdle — and the sensation was not at all pleasant. Yet his surrounds were wondrous to behold; so beautiful, uncluttered and elegant.

  The chamber itself was roundish and not very big, but the ceiling rose high up into a dome above. There were two high, arched double doorways to either side of his bed; the shuttered doors of both were open to allow a warm breeze to pass through the cool chamber. Across the room, at the foot of his bed, a quarter of the chamber was closed off from the rest of the room, and Ronan imagined this might be a bathroom. To one side of this section was a tall arched wooden door that was closed, and to the other a tall arched window with its shutters open to expose the clear aquamarine sky beyond. The chamber appeared as if it had been cut into a huge rose pink stone and then polished to perfection, and the floor of the room was smooth stone also, in a pale shade of milky jade.