They were making good time when they came upon a clearing. They could see the cliffs in the distance, they were getting close now.
Morgaine looked into the waters of the well and saw them coming for her. In a malevolent voice, she said," Good let them come! I will crush them and send them scurrying back to their lands tails tucked between their legs." Morgaine was so sure of herself, her arrogance would be her downfall. Morgaine couldn't believe that anyone was her equal.
In her mind, she was the most powerful witch in her magic and none could compare. She had made her pact with the demon Gronw Pebyr. He had granted her wish; her soul was a small price to pay. You see… her hate of all things good and pure drove her to stamp out all forms of good. She reveled in all things dark and evil, she had embraced evil. She welcomed those who shared her feelings and made plans to take over the world. She and her cohorts believed the world needed to be remade. They looked down on mortals and felt they should have rule over the land and all in it.
Mortals were not to be bore except to use as servants. In some cases, used for food. They were no better than the beast of this world, Morgaine wanted power. She wanted to rule over it all and not share in the ruling. While she would use her allies as pawns in this coming war. Ultimately, she longed to be Queen of the whole of the world. If she had to kill and reduce the Earth to rubble… so be it! In her greed and hate, she forgot that as long as there was good in the world, she would not win so easily. She knew that a group was on their way to try and defeat her.
The Guardians of the Mystic Talismans were coming to kill her army. Morgaine would destroy them because if she didn’t, they would forever be a thorn in her side. She couldn’t believe that Merlin was with them, That ungrateful lout! She knew the Coven of witches would seek to join the Light Army in trying to defeat her. Her spies had told her this bit of information. It didn't matter this would be their last stand and she would kill them all. She put her hand in the water and swirled it around saying, “I call forth the evil that dwells in the earth hear my call. The animals of in the air that serve me come to my aid and vanquish my enemies. Goddess Hekate her my call and send me an army to aid me!” She held up her hand and spread her fingers wide. Electric blue and white waves danced in her hand. She closed and flung her hand wide sending her magic out. She called in a strong wind and called forth the rain…. the skies became dark. The wind howled and the rain fell to the earth.
The rain stung the group as they made their way towards Morgaine’s cave. The group of seven looked up at the sky, Queen Teharessa shouted, “Morgaine seeks to delay us.” The witches all of them with elemental magic nodded their heads. Merlin was in the lead making his way steadily towards the cave. It overlooked the beach, he knew that cave well. Morgaine had told him many times of it. He had heard the story so many times he felt like he had been there before. He thought about how much she had changed. How much they all had changed, they once were in love. But Evil corrupts and changes love to hate, he came out of his memory and looked ahead.
All of a sudden, the earth opened up and all manner of bugs and vermin came out. The creatures spilled forth rushing towards them. Next thing to come out of the hole was the Dark Dwarves hammers in hands. They ran forward towards the group. Merlin pointed his staff towards the creatures and sent out a shockwave, stunning the creatures. Derryth then closed the hole and sealed it, hopefully nothing else would come out. That left them only to kill what was already out. The bugs and rats moved off from the group.
Teharessa summoned her magic and surrounded them in a bubble that the Dwarves could not penetrate, not even from below ground. The Dwarves hammered away at the shield trying to get in. The witches had their hands full fighting off the swarm of bats and ravens that had all of a sudden descended upon them. Aine sent out a gust of wind so strong. It sent all the flying creatures far away fleeing for their lives.
The Queen then sent out a magic wave it rippled out and called on the Dwarves to return from where they came. Once the swarms and Dwarves had been sent on their way the party continued on.
As they came to the entrance to the cave, Merlin told them to get the Talismans ready. He gulped in air and said, “We need a plan. We need it fast.” Teharessa thought for a minute saying, “I think our goal should be to kill her. She has grown too powerful for anyone of us to kill on our own. Nimue yelled at them, “I have told you of the vision! While I know you hate her and Ahmar, we cannot kill her! She has grown too strong!” Teharessa relented she wanted her gone from her lands but not at the cost of losing one of them. Morgaine would be imprisoned here near Tehareesa’s forest. As long as Morgaine was there, she would stir up trouble and evil. Even if imprisoned, “I say we use the talismans and finish this. Her evil knows bounds and we must protect the world.” Queen Teharessa said. Melusine then spoke up, “I agree with you, we should kill her but I feel the power coming from that cave. We will call forth our magic and with our talisman, we will do as Nimue said. Teharessa these are your forest you will be able to guard her prison.”
Merlin shook his head knowing the time had come. He had to face his long-lost love and lock her up for eternity. He prayed he had the strength to do so. Merlin pulls forth his talisman, the wand was imbued with the magic of the Goddess Danu. With it and his staff he walked into the cave first saying, “Illuminate!” The crystal globe at the end of his staff started to glow. They all followed Merlin into the cave. Once inside they fanned out to block any one from escaping.
The cave went deep into the earth, the opening narrowed down and went towards the left. The group continued to follow it towards the back. As they made the left turn and looked to see where they needed to go next as Ahmar jumped in front of them. He sent a blast at them to give himself time to shift. The blast hit the rock over their heads, the rock broke apart and rubble started to rain down on them. Derryth raised her hand and the rocks stopped falling. They hung suspended in the air. She then sent them falling harmlessly to the ground. Ahmar had shifted to smoke and floated off deeper into the cave. Teharessa went to follow him speaking in a low tone, “Let’s go, he is going to tell Morgaine that we are here, we must hurry. Morgaine must be imprisoned but Ahmar… he dies this day! They stepped up the pace and came to another turn, this one opened into a large room with an earthen basin in the middle. In the back, hidden by shadows, were Morgaine and Ahmar. Nimue held out her hands and shouted, “Reveal yourself!” The cave brightened with light. Ahmar shrank back from the light. Teharessa stepped towards him and pulled forth the Club Of Dagda. When Ahmar saw the club, he tried to shift. Teharessa anticipated his move and sent a wave of magic to immobilize him. Her magic could be seen in waves as it spread and caught him up and froze him on the spot. He could not shift into smoke nor could he flash out of the cave. Ahmar looked shocked, he glanced towards Morgaine hoping she would help him.
Morgaine looked at Ahmar and smiled, she did not bother to help him. He wasn’t her problem any longer. He had always been a pawn in her game. By the time Ahmar had realized this, it was too late. Teharessa wanted revenge for what he did, and she would have it. Teharessa swung the club and hit Ahmar with it square in the chest. The club hit Ahmar with so great of force it killed him instantly, his body exploded into smoke.
Morgaine stepped up and boldly flung out her arms she screeched, “I see you come to betray me once again Merlin. I will kill you all! None of you can match me in my magic! Not even you Nimue!” Morgaine began to conjure a spell to kill them her eyes were completely black, a sign that she had embraced the dark. Everyone in the cave felt her power, it was strong and dark. The guardians reached for their talismans and start to chant the imprisoning spell. Chanting in unison, the magic began to flow through the Guardians. It spread out towards Morgaine in waves. Morgaine sent out a wave of magic but it was absorbed by the power of all the combined magic of the talismans. Morgaine was pinned on the spot.
As the magic spell grew and radiated, Morgaine felt real fear then. She screamed at them, “I will
break free of this prison and have my vengeance! I will destroy you all and this world! This I so swear!” The guardians backed out of the cave. Once they passed the part of the cave with the basin, they turned to run out of the cave. Derryth brought down the earth and rock from inside the cave. She sealed the cave entrance. Then using the strongest Earth magic, she knew placed a protection spell to keep away any one coming near the cave. She also encased Morgaine’s Prison with metal from the earth. Fiona added the element of fire to heat the metal to the point that made it impossible to breach the cave. Aine called forth her air elementals and asked that they blow a wind so strong as to keep people from the top of the cliff where the entrance used to be. Melusine called forth water to always keep a mist around the cliffs. It would shroud the cliffs and hide the entrance.
Merlin, Teharessa, and Nimue all set a spell to warn all living things away from this place. That was all they could do, they had all used their strongest magic to imprison her. Morgaine was locked in her prison and there she would stay. Teharessa would be near also to guard the prison. Merlin had seen the hurt in Morgaine’s eyes and he would carry that memory until his dying day. He knew they had done the right thing, but it did not make him feel any better about it. Sometimes you had to do what is right… Not what is easiest. In those instances, it was good to have friends.
The guardians started back down the hill, they would each go their separate ways remembering the blood pact made. They would each go on to record what happened and leave a record for their descendants. The Guardians Of The Mystic Talisman would have a legacy of magic to leave for their bloodline. Only the Worthy of their bloodline would inherit the magic of the Talisman. For now, the guardians left for home with a new-found sense of hope and new friends that became like family.
In her prison, Morgaine seethed with anger. Her vision had been a lie, she had never been wrong in her visions. Ahmar was dead and her army was gone. She had made a pact with a demon only to be beaten! It was all too much! Morgaine calmed and the magic spell had lessened. She was trapped, if she could not find a way out, she would be there for the rest of her life. Morgaine’s hate was the only thing she had left. She would seek another vision and find out why the last vision had not come to pass. She had seen the defeat of the light army. Morgaine thought for a moment and then it came to her; the vision had not happened yet. It was still to come, which meant that she would fight them again. She would escape her prison… Now to figure out how to do it. Morgaine smiled to herself, “I now have a new mission, find a way out of this prison and kill my enemies!”
Present Day
CHAPTER 15
Avalon Rhodes looked in the mirror and stared, it was her eighteenth birthday and she didn’t feel any different. She had thought for a moment this was a big day for her and she hoped just to enjoy the day. Since her mother’s death, good days were a rare thing. She should feel like a woman, right? As of right now she only felt dread. Her father was downstairs waiting for her to come down to breakfast, so he could give her the gifts he had and to feed her the customary birthday breakfast he always made. Ava wasn’t an ingrate, she just felt like now she was considered an adult that childhood traditions were a thing of the past. "Oh well!" She might as well get the show on the road.
Richard Rhodes was in fact downstairs finishing up his only beloved daughter’s birthday breakfast. He was not the best of cooks, but breakfast he could do. It was a birthday tradition that he had always done since Ava was a baby. Today she was a woman and that thought made his eyes water. “Morning dad,” Ava said as she came into the kitchen. She looked tired, ever since the death of her mother, she wasn’t sleeping well. She took a seat at the table and waited for him to speak.
“How is my birthday girl? You look great honey Happy Birthday!”
Ava smiled and said, “Thanks dad I appreciate it and the breakfast.” Rich served up breakfast and thought about his wife. This was the first birthday they would celebrate without her and it would suck bad but Rich knew he had to be strong for Ava. Now was not the time to have a meltdown. As they ate the silence stretched out. Ava wanted to retreat to her room. Her room was her safe place. “The food was good, dad,” Ava said. Rich smiled and got up to go get her birthday gifts. Ava got up to clear the table.
When her dad re-entered the room, he had two packages with him. “The pink one is from your mom, she had it saved for your eighteenth birthday for years before her death. She would want you to have it. The other one is from me, it sort of goes with the one your mom left. I hope you like it and I hope you use it” Ava bit her lip in indecisiveness. She couldn’t decide which to open first. She decided on the gift from her father first. It was wrapped in a pretty coral colored paper with a big white bow on it. As she tore open the package, she looked at her dad. He was trying to be strong for her. He missed her mom as bad as she did and this was her first birthday without her.
She had to try to move on, mom would want her to live her life and not dwell on her death. She loved life and nature and Ava admired her for her ability to speak her mind and see the beauty in all things. It was a lovely leather-bound journal. It was made with handmade paper for the pages and the leather was worked with stamped embellishments of what looked like flowers and plants on the cover. She opened to the first page and read the words on the page, “May you write all your secrets and dreams between these pages and know that you are loved and you are born into a legacy of magic. Love you always, Dad.” Ava thanked her dad and picked up the present from her mom.
Tears started to well up in her eyes, she stopped herself from crying. As she opened the package, her hands shook with nervousness. Why was she shaking? Her father just stood there waiting. Ava closed her eyes, took a deep breath then exhaled and opened her eyes. She saw her father there to support her and she knew she just had to do it. She tore open the package and began pulling gobs of gift tissue paper out before seeing what was inside. Her stomach, full of butterflies, did flips. Laying at the bottom of the box was what looked to be a book. It looked like an old book, it had a funny looking symbol on the cover. She had never seen that symbol and she wondered at the meaning. Her hands shook as she reached into the box to pull out the book to get a better look at it. It was fairly large and the leather of the book was black. The symbol looked like a cross with a circle in the middle. The circle in the middle was almost as big as the cross. The circle was divided into four sections that looked to be triangles. Each triangle had a small carved symbol in the leather.
Ava looked harder and noticed what looked to be a symbol of a flame of fire, a symbol of a set of mountains, a water drop, a cyclone tunnel and in the middle was a human body outline. She wondered what type of book it was. The book had no visible title. She look to her father for a clue to the type of book it was. He shrugged his shoulders and said, “Open the book honey, inside is all the answers you seek and a letter from your mom to explain. I’m going to let you read the letter. I’ll be upstairs if you have any questions. I will do my best to answer any questions you have.” He turned and left her to open the book and read her mother’s letter. Ava slowly opened the book.
Inside the first page was a letter, she recognized the handwriting. The tears started to flow as she read the letter.
“My darling daughter, today you become a woman and you inherit our family legacy. Avalon what I’m about to reveal to you is a family secret. No matter what you decide, you have to keep the secret. I’m a witch, like my mother before me and her mother before her. All the women of our line are.”
Ava couldn’t believe what her mother was saying. This had to be a joke. Witches were NOT real, and her mother had been normal. No way was this true. She continued to read:
“We are elemental witches, each one of us inherit the power over one of the elements. Earth, air, fire, water and spirit. It is up to us to hone our powers and to wield our magic for good. You see my love there are bad witches and evils in this world and it’s up to people like us with special abilities to figh
t them.
This task is a serious one, you must decide if you want to accept your gift and take up the fight. I know you can do this, you're strong and you have the power of our family legacy behind you. Know that if you decide to take your inheritance, you will find evil and it will find you. The book will explain more about the enemy and explain our fight and why we do it. There are a lot of us, Witches have always been a part of this world we just have been in hiding. People not born of magic fear the unknown and people that are different. Your father is not magic born, but he knows we are. When we fell in love, I had to tell him for his safety. In order for you to unlock your gifts, you must perform a ritual.
The ritual is called the Awakening and once you complete it, you will unlock your power. I will train you in magic and along with my coven and the book you will be powerful in your own right. I have power over Earth. This is why I can grow plants and why I’m always outdoors. You must decide on this matter alone. This is why I wrote you this letter. My mother did the same to allow time to digest this information and to think and decide. This is the truth of our family. This is something you must face and accept or stay silent on. Think on it and choose. Once you choose it can’t be undone. You have until midnight tomorrow to perform the ritual. After that, your gift is bound and you lose your inheritance. The Awakening ritual is in the book. It must be followed exactly as the book says to work. I hope you accept this, my love, it is a wonderful gift and I’m so happy to have been born into this power. Whatever your decision is know that you have a proud mother and I love you more than life itself.”
Ava’s mom had died under mysterious circumstances, she hoped this had nothing to do with her death. She had to think about it, her mother wouldn’t lie to her about being a witch. She had always told Ava the truth and she just knew…deep down in her very being that it was the truth. Ava put the book on the kitchen table and walked up the stairs to talk to her father. His bedroom door was closed, so she knocked softly on the door. Her father told her to come in. Ava turned the door handle and walked in, she looked at him and ask him the simplest question, “Is it true, dad?”
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