Milo and the Dragon Cross

by Robert Jesten Upton

  Culebrant kept Milo plenty busy. “First of all, you must learn to make a shield, following the proper procedures. Then you have to internalize it. The physical shield then becomes redundant, for it’s the spiritual shield that thwarts the malignant energy that will be directed at you.”

  So they went about making a shield. First, they collected the materials Culebrant said Milo would need.

  “Everything’s right here in the forest,” Culebrant told him. “This is how you become a Woodcutter. Not a woodsman, mind you, or a person who cuts wood with metal tools. Have you ever heard the term that hunters and trackers use? ‘Cutting for sign?’ That has the meaning I use. It means to look for the evidence animals leave behind, like tracks, droppings, hair, and grass and twigs bent by their passage. A skilled hunter can examine those things to learn a great deal about animals that he hasn’t actually seen. A Woodcutter does the same thing, except instead of animals, he’s tracking the wisdom of trees.”

  He handed Milo a knife made of beautifully flaked flint, with an antler handle. “A metal knife, saw, or axe destroys the energy in the wood when you cut it. This is much less intrusive and leaves the essence of the plant’s energy in the parts you’ll be collecting. They’ll be much more powerful to you that way.”

  The idea of trees having some sort of inherent energy and wisdom was a hard idea for Milo to accept, but he wasn’t going to say that to Culebrant. Culebrant said it for him.

  “Remember, young Milo, these are beings much more like us than we realize. They have an experience of life that’s alien to the sort of mobile existence we have, but that doesn’t preclude their sentient nature. For now, accept that they can help you. I won’t insist you believe it as long as you respect the possibility. Wisdom comes through believing nothing while remaining open to everything.”

  Culebrant showed him a succession of trees, explaining the properties and characteristics of each. He described how Milo should collect the parts he would use from each of them, avoiding contact with them himself. “To be your shield, it must resonate to your energy. My touch could alter that enough to cause a weak spot, and your enemies, especially the skilled ones you’ll meet, would instantly recognize those points and exploit them.

  “There are three things a good shield can do,” he continued. “First, it can deflect malevolent intent. Second, it serves to camouflage your own intent from others, and third, it blocks the vampiric drain of energy that other beings can take from you, whether through malicious design or sheer neediness.”

  Loaded with materials, they trooped back to Culebrant’s cottage. Bori left the sleeping kittens to come out into the yard to watch. Culebrant coached Milo in careful detail as Milo followed his instructions.

  First, he had Milo shape a ring by bending willow branches and binding them together. “We’ll hang that in the rafters where it can dry and adapt to its new shape,” Culebrant told him. “When this part is done, we’ll prepare the other materials to use as we need them during the construction of the shield. That should take a while—oh, say until Belthane, at summer equinox. After that, we’ll start the process you’ll need to go through to internalize the finished shield.”

  He directed Milo how to put together the unused materials to store them. “There will be an additional quality your shield must have,” he added when they were done. “It must be able to conceal the talisman you wear underneath your shirt as well as shield you.”

  This shocked Milo. He had been very careful to keep the cross hidden from notice. “You...you...?” he stammered.

  “Oh yes. I’ve known about that from the first instant I set eyes on you. It shines brighter than the brightest star to anyone with an eye for things from the Otherworld. You’ll need to hide it better than your shirt can if you want to keep it secret from the sort who can see it, because it gives you away. You can’t afford that.”

  Milo felt anxious and embarrassed at the same time. All this time Culebrant had known that he carried a secret that he hadn’t shared. What if Culebrant had tried to take it? What if he had gone straight into a face-off with Kayn? It made him feel like a fool, ashamed and dependent on nothing more than just dumb luck.

  The kittens were growing day by day as Milo worked on his shield. Culebrant encouraged him to spend time with them even as he held Milo to a schedule that would insure that he finish the shield before the beginning of summer. “Those kittens need to have the company of their human friends,” he pointed out. “Otherwise they’ll be too wild to be handled.”

  The kittens were soon tottering about, their bright little eyes eager to see everything. They held their little spike tails high as they practiced scampering and pouncing on imaginary prey, three fierce teddy bears.

  “What are you naming them?” Milo asked Bori as Milo played with the little grey male, letting him chase the tip of a whippy switch.

  “Oh, that’s up to you humans. Cats don’t need names among ourselves. We know each other by scent. Names are between us and our human friends.”

  Milo thought about that as he watched the little male, already full of himself and strutting like the world was there for his sole benefit. “I think ‘Raster’ suits him,” Milo decided.

  “Raster? Okay, how about the girls?”

  The two female kittens were playing hide-and-seek under the apparent inattention of their mother, who, Milo knew, was aware of their every move and everything else in the yard. One of them stopped in mid-pounce to smell a recently bloomed crocus.

  “Iris and Daisy,” Milo said, deciding names right then. “I don’t know which one is Iris and which one is Daisy, because they look exactly alike,” Milo added.

  “You would know if you were a cat with a cat’s sense of smell,” Bori answered. “I’ve always wondered how you humans get along without being able to smell what’s happening around you, being blind at night, and lacking a good set of whiskers to feel where you are.”

  “We do the best we can, I guess. Besides, I’ve got you to help me out.”

  Raster left the switch to pounce on his father, who rolled him with a lazy paw and held him down until he struggled free and dashed away to chase his nearest sister.

  “Family life suits me,” Bori told Milo. “When this is done, I’m going to settle down right here with my family.”

  Culebrant insisted that the shield be finished by Belthane. “That gives it the strength of the waxing sun,” he said, referring to the sun’s return into summer skies.

  Culebrant instructed Milo to choose his own materials to incorporate into the shield, though he was careful to make suggestions and explain what properties each choice might give as Milo went along. Milo wove strips of various woods together and layered them using glue that Culebrant taught him to make. In the days just after Yule, Culebrant had taken him into the forest to climb high into oak trees to harvest and mash the white mistletoe berries for their juice to use in the glue. He had given Milo a white smock to wear, insisting that he have it on whenever he did anything with the mistletoe. It had gotten stained with juice, moss smears, and glue, but Culebrant would not let him wash it. “That would dilute the strength of the mistletoe,” he claimed.

  Two days early, Milo had it completed, except for choosing a symbol to paint on the face. “What will it be?” Culebrant asked him.

  “I was thinking of the stars that make up The Dragon,” Milo answered. “But just the little points are sort of weak. I think it needs something to make it stronger than that.”

  “I think The Dragon is an excellent choice. Let’s see if we can’t figure out how to make the design more striking. How does the constellation make the most sense to you?”

  “I’ve been watching how it turns around the axis of the sky every night, and I like the wheel-like path it takes.”

  “Then draw a picture of it on this piece of bark,” Culebrant suggested.

  Milo did that, easily placing each star where it appeared in the configuration, so familiar were they to him by now.

&
nbsp; “Now, try this: draw the way they go in the opposite position,” Culebrant directed, and Milo did that. They formed a shaft-like shape with hooks at the outer ends. “Draw another one at right angles, and then opposite to that.”

  When Milo finished, the design had the form of a cross with bent tips. “It looks like it’s dancing,” Milo said. “It also reminds me of a figure we call a swastika, though swastikas have a bad name where I’m from. That’s because they were used by some very bad people before I was born. Only, I think the one they used had the arms bent the opposite way. They made their swastikas look like they turned clockwise.”

  “That’s very interesting. The way your picture turns is the way The Dragon turns in a gyre around the sky, marking the cycle of the Rule. We call that direction ‘widdershins.’ The other way would be anti-widdershins, and that gives it an evil spin.”

  “Wow! I wonder if they knew that?” Milo said, thinking about the Nazi symbol.

  “Perhaps their intentions guided them whether they knew what they were doing or not,” Culebrant said. “This picture you drew is a very old symbol, and very powerful. I think it’s perfect for your shield.”

  Milo painted the whole face of the shield white by grinding white clay into the paste he made using mistletoe juice. He edged it with a black border around the rim, and then filled the middle with the wheeling widdershins stars. Instead of painting in each star as an individual point, he turned the four-armed shape into a solid figure in a rich crimson. He held the shield up when he was done, very pleased with the effect and how substantial it felt despite its light weight.

  “That shield can stop a spear,” Culebrant told him. “But it can’t stop a spell yet. You have to internalize it first.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Between now and midsummer, at Litha, you must carry your shield with you everywhere you go. Use it for a pillow at night. Look for it in your dreams. By keeping it with you all the time, it’ll become a part of you.”

  Milo made loops of twine so he could sling it on his back to free his hands while he worked, but the part about looking for it in his dreams seemed very unlikely. How do you control your dreams? But he promised to try. Meanwhile, Culebrant taught him more stories about the stars.

  “When you painted the stars of The Dragon on your shield, you made the hub on the third star of the dragon’s tail,” Culebrant pointed out.

  “I did that because it seemed to be the best one for the constellation to spin on. That way the four directions seem the most balanced” Milo offered.

  “That’s very interesting,” Culebrant commented. “What if I were to tell you that that star was once the Pole Star, the North Star thousands of years ago? Back when the temple for the winter solstice was built?”

  That caused a shiver to run up Milo’s spine. It felt like he was hanging on the edge of a major revelation.

  “Precession has caused the Pole Star to shift, like I explained to you before. Today the Pole Star is the last star in the Little Bear’s tail, but back then it was the third star in the dragon’s tail. That means that the Hub was in Heronsuge.”

  “In Heronsuge? The Dragon? Then...back when the hub was The Dragon, it would have been the most important constellation in the sky!” Milo exclaimed.

  “Exactly. Heronsuge was set to guard the Hub and be the protector of the Wheel. Candaon, carrying his bat of destruction and of healing, had the talisman he received from Dawn to counteract Heronsuge. That means Candaon held the key to lock Heronsuge into place and thereby control access into the Gate of Eternity; he held the key to The Rule. So, you see, Candaon and Heronsuge are joined in a deep partnership. Together they preside over the Gate into the Otherworld. They administer the path of Wisdom, or Knowledge of the Rule, and guard the path that the soul must take to pass into the Higher Realm on the other side of the Wheel.

  “Here’s the explanation about how that came about. Remember when I told you the story about the War of the Elementals? How some of the Elementals joined with The Fallen while other remained faithful to Anzu and her Rule? Heronsuge remained true, but Tholis was one of the rebels. Severanus was another. When Tholis called on Heronsuge to pursue Candaon, she convinced him that Candaon was trying to get into the Garden of the Higher Realm on the other side of the Wheel in order to steal the apples of immortality that grew there. In fact, she and Severanus were the ones who were plotting to steal them. If they had gotten the apples, they would have had the key to escape death and that would have been a huge advantage in the war.”

  Milo’s mind spun with possibilities at this. “So...there were apples that make you live forever. We have a story about apples, too. They were in a garden when the world was created. The first two people, Adam and Eve, lived in the garden where the apple tree, the Tree of Knowledge, was until a serpent tempted Eve to eat one of the apples. She shared it with Adam and because the apples were forbidden, they were banished from the garden and condemned to live in pain and to die, them and all their descendants afterward.”

  Culebrant considered Milo’s story, shaking his head in recognition. “Fascinating! It’s the same story, only altered to fit a different culture. The apples, a tree of knowledge that’s forbidden to mortals, and a serpent—that would be Heronsuge, the dragon who guards it.”

  Culebrant anticipated the tumult of questions Milo was about to ask and preempted them by continuing his story. “When Therona’s arrow struck Candaon as he was returning to Elx, bearing the talisman from Dawn, he was carrying his slinger bat with him. As he sank into the waters of the sea, the end that gives back life struck him, preventing his death. Of course neither Tholis nor Therona realized this and presumed him dead. Weakened, but still alive, he made it to Inys Raun and dragged himself up onto the beach.”

  “Wait a minute!” Milo broke in. “I thought he was going to Elx. Where did this Inys Raun come from?”

  Culebrant gave a mischievous grin. “Elx and Inys Raun are the same, the sacred isle presided over by Therona, Lady of the Moon and the High Priestess of the Western Maidens who live in the Garden at the Gate to the Otherworld. Tholis had made her labyrinth beneath the island to gain access to Elx. By hiding her realm beneath the island, she could keep it from the notice of those who were loyal to The Rule and at the same time give herself an unseen but convenient approach to the Gate.

  “With Candaon taken care of and Therona distracted by her guilt and grieving, Tholis and Severanus made a dash for the Gate. She stood guard against Heronsuge’s return while Severanus slipped through to steal the apples. Meanwhile, Therona found Candaon on the beach. With the talisman he carried, she used it to heal him and restore his strength. Overjoyed that he still lived, she took him to her temple, but on the way they met Tholis who had received the apples from Severanus. Tholis tried to slip past Therona and Candaon, but Therona stopped her to ask her what she was carrying. Tholis told her that she just had some apples that she had been eating, but Therona suspected what they really were. Therona asked Tholis if she would share them with her and Candaon since they hadn’t eaten.

  “Tholis couldn’t refuse. If her ruse were revealed, she knew she couldn’t take both of them on at the same time, so she had to give each one of them an apple, leaving her with only one. But one, she considered, was better than nothing and she slipped away with the remaining apple.

  “With the two apples in hand, Therona was certain where they’d come from and turned in pursuit of Tholis, handing the two apples to Candaon to guard. Instead of waiting, however, Candaon used his slinger bat to volley the apples back into the Garden, a tremendous feat of skill and strength. Then he chased after Therona and the fleeing pair, Tholis and Severanus. They caught up with them, but not before Severanus called up reinforcements. A furious battle broke out with Therona shooting her deadly arrows and Candaon using the killing end of his bat. He engaged with Tholis, using his bat to scoop away the apple she carried. With Therona covering his retreat, he dashed back toward the Gate. Now the chase was r
eversed, with Tholis and The Fallen chasing Therona and Candaon. But as they approached the precincts of the Gate, Heronsuge, returned from searching for Candaon, had taken up his place as Guard of the Gate and confronted Candaon. As Heronsuge opened his jaws wide to snap the interloper in half. Candaon made another incredible leap that carried him straight down the monster’s throat and out his tail, right at the entrance to the Gate. Saturated with Heronsuge’s venom, Candaon used the last of his strength to toss the third apple back into the Garden where it belonged.

  “Heronsuge’s venom dissolved the hero in moments. Nothing was left but the talisman he carried and the nobility of his deed.

  “Stellanus, the Star Herder, carried out the promise he’d made to Therona to place a memorial for Candaon in the sky. He took the brilliance from Heronsuge’s stars and transferred it to Candaon’s stars to blaze in the winter sky. There they arbitrate the destinies of all mortals through the influence of the constellations of the Wheel. Heronsuge, in remorse for his mistake in trying to prevent Candaon from completing his task, relinquished his position at the Hub, but he remains as the Watcher of the Wisdom Path.”

  “That’s quite a strory,” Milo commented.

  “Yes, it is,” Culebrant agreed.

  18

  Milo Dreams of an Otherworld

  How will I know when I’ve internalized my shield?” Milo asked Culebrant. He carried it with him all the time now but couldn’t imagine how that was to lead to an end of the process.

  “Oh, you’ll know,” Culebrant assured him.

  “You said I should have it by summer solstice, right?” Milo pushed.

  “Yes, I said that. But it’s not about the amount of time. By the way, how’s your dreaming?”

  “Oh, okay.” He knew Culebrant was going to ask him about the shield appearing in his dreams, which it hadn’t. “Like, last night I dreamed that I was on top of the barrow. Bori was there, and we were looking for Raster. He’d gone off somewhere.”