by Timothy Ray
“Despairing about their fate, another one of the men went into the mountains, and there found a primitive species of primate hiding within its caves. Short in stature and skittish, he eventually won their trust and took one of the females for his mate. That was the beginning of the Dwarves.”
“The last man roamed the Earth. Unable to find his comrades, billions of miles from home, he got ambushed by the primitive apes inhabiting a land called Africa. The man was deemed a God, and before they ate the poor soul, the women took in his seed and gave birth to the first Man.”
“Time passed and while the Dwarves hid in their caves, Man spread across the African continent, consuming and growing like parasites. No offense,” Melissa told Tristan, but he was barely listening. He wasn’t here for a history lesson. “The Elves however, had got drunk on power. In the magical realm surrounded by fairies, they forced their way to the upper hierarchies, and were on the verge of causing another mass extinction.”
“Luckily, the elders of that race foresaw this. So, they gathered together and decided that the chaos could be reined in if they could focus all of their magic into forging a magical weapon of pure intent. Something that would help rally the men, to help lead them to a better future. Using the blood of one of their strongest, purest elves, they bent their magic, and forged the magical sword forever known as Excalibur.”
“What they didn’t realize is that in nature, there has to be a balance. You cannot have pure good without pure evil. And when the sword came into being, a large vacuum was created, and nature sought to balance the scales. The Book of the Dead appeared before a pharaoh in a land called Egypt. The man who found it knew it for what it was, and hid it beneath his tomb, afraid that if it got loosed upon the world, whole civilizations would be destroyed.”
“It was found by clerics attending the fallen King centuries later, and a cult formed around the book. For three thousand years, it worked behind the scenes while dynasties rose as others died. Then, the Library of Alexandria was destroyed and the book was lost.”
“It is believed that one of the clerics in charge of the book, fled before the Roman army descended upon Egypt, and that they hid on the fringes of the Roman Empire in a land called Britain.”
“During the reign of King Arthur, his half-sister Morgana found the book in a long-forgotten tomb, and with its magic, deceived her brother into laying with her and conceiving a child. A product of incest, but heir to the throne, she whisked the baby away and raised him on her own. Weaving her magic, she created a being of pure evil, and when the child came of age, he went looking for his father.”
“Merlin and a group of druids assaulted Morgana’s lair, stole the book, and protected it in a castle with very powerful magical defenses. When the mage emerged, Morgana was waiting, and it was that moment that the unprepared mage was trapped and imprisoned in ice. Without the book, Morgana was limited to the power she had already attained; never satisfied.”
“After Arthur’s death, the sword was returned to the Lady of the Lake, Nimue, and lost to the race of Man,” Melissa told them, then paused. “Two thousand years ago, a woman named Rachel Emerick went to Egypt on a school field trip and was entranced by the ancient history she was exposed too. Fascinated by the tales of the Book of the Dead, she spent her teenage years tracking it through history. The Information Age made materials available with a touch of a finger, and she was able to locate the book where Merlin had hidden it.”
“Rachel, the descendant of Morgana le Fey, did what her ancestor could not; she broke through the castle’s defenses and retook her great grandmother’s book for her own. The Phoenix had been born.”
“The druids that had helped Merlin fight Morgana had hidden from the world, secretly passing their magic down through their children, until the day they would be needed again. I am one of those descendants, and when the castle’s defenses fell, I was alerted immediately. I gathered others of my kind and we went in search of Nimue, knowing that eventually the Phoenix’s would seek her out; for only Excalibur can destroy the Book of the Dead.”
“My friends and I were able to construct an elaborate set of defenses to protect Nimue until the day came that its heir rose and claimed it. As was prophesized, King Arthur lives again. Reincarnated in the body of an Elven King, his own blood line, he will never be complete until Excalibur is once more in his grasp. What Tristan saw was the powerful memories of a former life surging forward into its unprepared host, and it triggered his own as well.”
“You called yourself Lancelot. He was the first and best knight of the Round Table, and King Arthur’s best friend. He betrayed that friendship by falling in love with Arthur’s wife and running away with her. I believe his soul has been loose upon the world, seeking redemption, and has chosen you to get it for him. Only by returning Excalibur to Arthur, will Lancelot truly be at peace.”
He didn’t know where to start, or how to begin. He couldn’t absorb everything she said and process it fast enough.
“What must we do?” Willow asked for him, the revelations causing his temples to throb; his head to ache.
“You still want to take on this foolish quest?” Melissa asked, eyes wide. “Maybe you should think on it. Go home. Take some time to reconsider.”
“What home?” he finally croaked. “It’s under attack even as we speak. I can’t go back there, and to be honest, I can’t really be safe anywhere. Because no matter what happens to my people, the Phoenix will keep coming; she’ll never stop. The only way to put an end to her is to destroy that book. To do that, I need Excalibur. So please, stop acting like we have a choice.”
Melissa shook her head in disbelief. “You always have a choice.”
“To what, hide here like you did? To bury your head in the sand?” Kylee spoke up, standing behind them, a hand on both their shoulders. He felt like placing his own on hers, but didn’t dare push it. He was just glad for the gesture.
“Don’t you dare question me! I have lived while everyone I know has perished. I have seen the world die and be reborn. For two thousand years, I have survived. Why should I get involved now? I’ll just end up dead with everyone else,” the witch stated.
“You’re already are and you know it,” he reminded her, and Melissa’s head dropped.
Willow leaned forward and placed her hand on Melissa’s. “Why not begin by telling us what we need to do to find the sword.”
Melissa looked into the water beside them for a moment before responding. “We devised a series of defenses that require keys to unlock. We created each of the keys as representatives of the four elements. This,” the woman blurted as she took a bundle from her lap and placed it on the table, “is the Sword of Madera.”
She unwrapped the weapon within to reveal a sword made of wood. It was polished, gleaming in the torchlight, about the size of a short sword. On the hilt was a wooden engraving of a tree within a circle, the grip was made of wrapped leather over a wooden pommel. Not much of a weapon; it didn’t look any different than the training swords he’d used back home.
She refused to remove it from the cloth and glared at him for thinking it inferior.
“It is the first key and represents Water. The second,” Melissa continued, “is lying on the ground over there. Though his father named it Seeker, its true name is Justice, and was created to represent Air. That you already had it proves that this is your destiny, and I cannot deny the unseen forces that have brought you to me. I must bow before them and accept what fate has decreed.”
“What of the other two? You said there were four,” Willow pushed on, her face eager. She was excited and he wished he had the energy to be as well. There was just too much to think on, and he hadn’t slept in over twenty-four hours.
The witch nodded in response. “One is hidden with the City of Silver and Gold. The other was found by the Phoenix a long time ago, and I have no idea where the evil witch hid it. Or even if it still exists.”
His heart sank. If the Phoenix had the fourth
key, then how were they to retrieve Excalibur before facing her? It seemed impossible. There was no way they’d make it through the Deadlands unnoticed, much less enter her fortress and steal it out from under her. No wonder Melissa thought it was a fool’s errand. You’d have to be insane to make a journey like that.
Melissa nodded grimly at his train of thought; he had finally understood.
“One thing at a time,” Willow told them both, squeezing his hand and giving him a smile. “First, we have to get to the third key, then we’ll worry about the last. Do you know where this City of Silver and Gold is?”
“I do,” Melissa told them with a sad smile. “It’s been known by several names throughout the years, hidden deep within the Drago Mountains. Merlin trained his druids there during the rebellion. Ironic that it was so close yet none of them ever sensed it. In Tristan’s soul, he’ll recognize the name instantly. The third key—lies within Camelot.”
To be Continued…
In Book 2 of the New Age Saga:
Pure of Heart