Chapter 4
Ravenglass Village, England
March 1462 A.D.
The morning air was cold and the land was glazed over with a heavy fog, which was typical for the time of year. The sun was just cresting above the low hills behind the thatched roof, and in a couple of hours, most of the fog would burn off to be replaced by a mix of clouds and sun. The man paced anxiously in the outer room of the modest stone and wood farm house, which served as a kitchen and dining room, while his wife lay in the bedroom being tended by a mid-wife.
Their first child was about to be brought into the world, and the man prayed the baby would be healthy. The pregnancy had been uneventful to this point; his wife had not experienced the usual morning sickness or other maladies that often affected pregnant women.
Due to her stubborn streak she had insisted on helping her husband with the chores on their farm, which helped provide most of the people in their village with fresh vegetables and grain for bread, until three days before the impending birth of their child, despite his vehement protestations that she stay in bed. Finally, she agreed to some rest after he playfully threatened to tie her to the bed if she didn’t.
She had been in labor since just after midnight. Her water had finally broken just before her husband, David, had gotten out of bed to begin his day. Fortunately the mid-wife lived but a fifteen minute walk from their farm. David made it to her house in half the time. She had been expecting to be summoned to the house to tend to the birth for the last week. After being woken up by David, it took her only a few minutes to arrive at their house.
***
David Miles Essex was a large, muscular man whose body had been hardened by working the land of his birth since he was old enough to stand. His father had been a peasant farmer for most of his life. Although most peasant farmers worked the land for the lord of the manor, David’s father had been so successful at running the farm he had been allowed to purchase the farm and land to work as his own when the lord of the manor died.
David’s mother, Catherine, had died while giving birth to David’s brother, Paul, when David was three. Paul was born prematurely and had died within hours of his birth. David’s father had never remarried, and grieved for his wife and child until the day he died. David had inherited the farm after his father, William, had died from a fever brought on by blood poisoning after severely cutting his leg while plowing the fields when David was fifteen.
***
David’s thoughts drifted back to when at the age of twenty, he had been entranced by Emma Elizabeth Clarke while mending a neighbor’s fence. Emma was nineteen at the time, and was the most beautiful woman David had ever seen in his life. He was instantly smitten. Within a year they were married, and three years later she was pregnant with their first child. They planned to name the child William, after David’s father, if it was a boy, and Jane, after Emma’s mother, if it was a girl. David hoped this would be the first of many children.
David’s nervous pacing was interrupted by the muffled sounds of the mid-wife’s sharp smack on the baby’s bottom, which was followed by a loud, startled cry and the drawing of first breath. David said a silent thank you to God, and continued to pray that the child was healthy.
A few minutes later the mid-wife came to the door of the bedroom and said in a hushed tone, “You may come in and see your wife and baby now.”
David entered the bedroom, which now doubled as a birthing chamber, and approached his wife who was holding the baby to her breast as the child suckled her for its first meal outside of the womb.
“Come say hello to your new son,” Emma called to him softly, a warm, radiant smile shone from her face.
“New son?” David had not thought to ask the mid-wife if the child was a boy or girl.
“Aye,” Emma smiled, “your new son, William.”
Planet Altrusia
Gamma Quadrant, Milky Way Galaxy
Portak, one of the senior Elders of the Altrusian High Council, was sleeping fitfully. He usually had no problems sleeping, but for some reason this night was different. As he drifted between periods of rest and restlessness he began having what he thought was a vivid dream, but soon realized that he was in the midst of one of his infrequent, but always prophetic, visions. He tried to wake himself up but the dream was so intense it held him firmly within its grasp.
Finally, by the end of the vision, Portak had regained control of himself, woke with a start and got out of bed. His pulse raced and his two hearts beat hard within his strong, slender chest. He paced slowly around his large room unable to return to sleep. After a few minutes, he laid back down and tried to fall sleep again but soon realized it was pointless. He finally got back up, got dressed and sat contemplating his vision. Although they were infrequent, he knew better than to ignore them. Soon he knew that preparations would need to be made; preparations that must be done in secret and without authorization from the Council.
Ravenglass Village, England
May 1465 A.D.
William sat quietly in a small wooden chair by the window watching the warm spring rain make glassy puddles on the ground. The chair had been built by his father as a birthday gift on his third birthday a couple of months earlier.
From a very early age, William had proven to be an exceptionally bright child. By the age of three, his vocabulary and grammar were on par with that of an educated adult.
Emma often had to remind herself that the child was only three years old. Not only was he tall and stocky for his age, but William was always asking questions that were beyond his years as well. His mother seldom had an answer for most of his questions; questions that usually centered around scientific matters, the sun and stars, weather phenomenon, mathematics and languages, that to his mother‘s surprise he intuitively answered on his own.
William (Will to his family) was blessed with good health and had never been sick a day in his life, even when other children he played with in the village had taken ill.
Although there were not many books in the modest house, Will could already read and comprehend all of them, even those written in Latin and French. Emma and David did not tell anyone in their village about Will’s linguistic abilities, or his scientific curiosity, as they were afraid that their son would be branded as a sorcerer or a demon - especially since he had learned to speak, read and write these languages without any assistance from his parents, who could barely read and write themselves.
“Mother, where does the rain come from?” Will asked one day, as he stood in front of her while she sat in the lone adult-sized chair in his simply furnished room.
“God sends the rain to us so we shall have fresh water to drink and to help the flowers and plants grow tall and beautiful,” his mother said, pushing his dark hair out of his eyes.
“How does God make the rain?” he inquired further.
“Well, I’m not sure.” Emma answered, “Perhaps it is God’s tears of happiness or sadness that makes the rain.”
Will thought about this for a minute then said, “Somehow I doubt that is the case. More than likely the rain is caused by the warm humid air on the ground rising up into the clouds, and when the clouds are saturated with water vapor they form droplets that fall to the ground in the form of rain.”
Emma was startled by his scientific reasoning and did not say anything to him for several moments. After composing herself, she gently stroked his hair again and said to him in a gentle voice, “Will, I have a surprise for you. You are going to be a big brother soon.”
Smiling, Will looked up at his mother and said, “I was wondering when you and Father were going to tell me. I noticed you were with child a number of weeks ago, but I wanted to let you and Father impart the news to me yourselves. I am very happy, Mother.”
Unable to keep the shock out of her face, Emma sputtered at this revelation.
“How…how did you know I was with child?”
As if this were a strange question to ask, Will looked at his mother as
he cocked his head and replied, “Well, you have gained several pounds; you have the tell-tale mound in your abdominal area; your breasts are enlarged from producing milk, and you have been quietly making baby clothes when you have a minute to yourself.”
Emma was dumbstruck at Will’s almost casual reference to her condition and how easily he had deduced it.
“May I touch your stomach, Mother?” Will asked.
With some trepidation, Emma reluctantly agreed to his request.
As Will touched his mother’s growing bulge with his small hands, he closed his eyes and moved them around the surface of her stomach for several seconds.
After removing his hands, he nodded to himself, turned back towards the window and said with a quiet certainty that allowed for no discussion, “I’m going to have a brother. I believe Edward Charles would be a strong, masculine name for him.”
Emma was too shocked to respond. She got up quietly and left him sitting by the window while she went into her bedroom to pray.
Cha pter 5
Ravenglass Village, England
1465 - 1474 A.D.
The years passed quickly. With each passing year, Will’s thirst for knowledge grew as exponentially as his scientific, mathematic and linguistic skills. His knowledge of everything grew so fast, that his parents were truly frightened - not of Will, but what would happen if anyone found out about his abilities. They knew that if he were branded a sorcerer, the superstitious folk in his village would put him to death.
Will’s schooling was done at home by his mother. However, ‘schooling’ might be a misnomer, as Emma had taught Will all that she could by the time he was three. By the time he was four, he was so far advanced of his mother that Will had become the teacher. Emma loved to listen to her son talk about science, math and languages, especially since he knew things by the age of four that could not be explained. He often pondered the mysteries of what lay beyond the boundaries of Earth.
On several occasions, she found some of his writings, which were actually advanced mathematical calculations and chemical equations and formulae, none of which she could decipher. She burned the pages each time, fearful that someone would find them and think him possessed by a demon.
By age five, his facility in languages had grown from fluency in three languages to twelve. By age seven, this had increased to thirty-five languages, and eighty by age ten - even though he had never heard anyone speak more than a few words in more than five of them! Not only had Will’s mental abilities and acuity increased, but physically he was incredibly strong and fast and becoming stronger and faster with each passing year. By age six, he was stronger than his father and helped with chores on the farm as if he were a grown man.
By age seven, Will was well aware that he was very different from other children his age, although he was not sure as to why. Sensing that his parents were fearful for him if someone should discover his abilities, he kept these things from the people in his village. When playing with children his own age, he purposely made sure he exhibited none of his advanced physical or mental abilities.
Will was also very protective, kind and gentle towards his younger brother, Edward, who had been born when Will was four, and treated him with adult-like maturity. Edward also loved his brother very much. After Emma had given birth to her second son, she remembered the day several months prior when Will had touched her stomach and informed her with such confidence that she was pregnant with a boy.
She knew there was an equal chance that the baby could have been a boy or a girl and that it could have been a lucky guess on Will’s part, but she knew this wasn’t the case. Will had somehow known the child would be a boy. Emma also remembered what he had said about the name Edward Charles being a strong, masculine name. When deciding on names for the baby, she had mentioned this combination to David and he had liked them immediately. It was soon decided that if the baby were indeed a boy, he would be named Edward Charles Essex. Emma had never told David of Will’s prediction of the baby’s sex, or his selection of a name - and she never would.
Will equally loved to spend time with his father. From him he learned to hunt, to fish and to live off the land. He also learned to farm and to build things with his hands. Will was a natural craftsman and could make intricate toys, tools and other items using the crude implements at his disposal to shape the wood into astounding works of art. As Will and his brother grew older, their father would take them into the forested mountains near their home where they would spend days putting their woodland skills into practice.
***
Ravenglass Village was nestled along the estuaries of three rivers: the Esk, Mite, and Irt, on the edge of the Irish Sea. During the second century A.D., the Romans had built a fort to help protect Hadrian's Wall, a fortification that stretched across the length of northern England, and was considered the beginning of the Roman Western Frontier.
The village’s port saw many foreign vessels enter its harbor, trading in goods from around the world. In 1208, Ravenglass was granted a charter to hold a market on Main Street and a fair each summer on St. James's Day. Will and his family set up a booth to sell their farm goods at the market each time it was opened.
When it was not planting or harvesting season, Will was allowed to seek extra work to help support his family. He worked on the docks loading and off-loading cargo from the myriad of ships that entered the port at Ravenglass. Will’s mother admonished him not to demonstrate more strength than a child his age should have, and he abided by her warning.
***
When Will was ten years old, he and his mother had gone to a nearby village to visit one of his mother‘s childhood friends but had stayed longer than they had intended; it was nightfall as they neared their village. As they approached its outskirts, two strange men suddenly came out from behind a tree and stopped on the road in front of them in the dark. Emma stopped and eyed the two men, both of whom were wearing dirty peasant clothing, and, sensing trouble, immediately turned to head back the other way. Two other similarly dressed men blocked the way from behind. She let out a startled cry. Emma kept Will behind her as best she could.
“What…what do you men want?” Emma nervously asked as the men kept approaching her, with vile looks covering their grimy, bearded faces. She could smell the fetid stench of their bodies and their rancid alcohol laced breath.
One of the men, who appeared to be the leader of the group, and also the largest by six inches and thirty pounds, answered with a devious smile. “Well, Lassie, first we’ll be takin’ yer gold, an’ then we’ll be takin’ turns with that pretty lil arse o’ yours.” He then let loose an evil chortle, and the rest of his men joined in, as he continued moving towards Will and his mother.
“Irish bastards!” Emma spat, noticing their brogue, “Stay away from us or I’ll scream!”
“Go ahead, bitch,” said the leader, “no one will hear ya, an’ it makes it that much harder when ye screams a wee bit,” he said grabbing his crotch obscenely. Emma started praying as hard as she could.
As the men came closer and closer to them, Will, instead of being frightened, appeared calm and completely in control of himself - almost too calm. Will then did something totally unexpected: he stepped in front of his mother and started speaking to the group of bandits in fluent Gaelic.
“I would recommend that you and your men turn around and leave immediately, or suffer the consequences of your actions.”
The four men stopped, looked at each other, and then started laughing.
The leader then said to his men “Look, lads, this lil bastard thinks he be some kind o’ fuckin’ hero,” who laughed at his pronouncement. Then to Will he said in Gaelic, “Who the fuck do ya think ya are, boy?”
With a cold stare and low voice, Will replied, “Someone who doesn’t like you and your girlfriends very much, and plans on teaching you a lesson you will never forget if you don‘t take your leave of us this instant.”
The leader was momentarily taken aback b
y Will’s cold response and even colder demeanor, as were his men. Over the years the Irishman had fought and killed many tough, hard men, but none had ever given him a look like Will did now. Will’s eyes were so piercing that the bandit could not meet his gaze for long.
For a few seconds the man was indecisive and wasn’t sure what to do or how to respond, but he knew that he couldn’t walk away from this now, not in front of his men and still retain their respect and his dignity.
The leader just looked at Will and replied with as much bravado as he could muster, “Ya shouldn’t be sassin’ yer betters, boy. Ye’ll be payin’ for that.”
Will looked at him and smiled, “If your lot is my ‘betters,’ I’d rather be attacked by a pack of rabid, flea infested dogs with no balls.”
With pure rage on his face, the leader stepped forward and grabbed Will’s left arm with his right hand and raised his other hand to strike Will in the face. It was at that moment all hell broke loose.
The second he was grabbed, Will yanked his left hand free and then grabbed the wrist of his attacker’s right hand. Will then hyper-extended the man’s arm, and, using his right hand, came underneath and shattered the bandit’s right arm by striking his elbow with his palm so that it went in the opposite direction it was supposed to. The bandit’s elbow shattered loudly, which left his arm hanging limp and completely useless by his side.
The leader’s shocked look and scream of pain were instantaneous. Will then immediately executed an inside crescent kick with his right foot, which connected violently with the left side of the leader’s face, knocking him unconscious. He hit the ground with a heavy thud.
As their leader fell, the other three men, and Will’s mother, stood slack jawed and bug-eyed at what they had just witnessed. Anger and revenge then filled the men’s eyes. The second man lunged at Will with murderous intent. Will stepped forward, met the man halfway, and executed a spinning hook kick with his right foot, which caught the man in mid-lunge on the right side of his face, knocking him unconscious as well.
Shadow Warrior: Destiny of a Mutant Page 2
