The Dragon's Egg : XI : Merlin : Eveline : Draft

XI

Merlin

Eveline

Upon her return from the door of Ecnes, Eveline had opened up to her friends and against her better judgement, told them off her unusual adventures. They were at first surprised and alarmed, had they known the full story Eveline was sure that they would have fallen into a mass of anxiety. As it was, Eveline kept a great deal of the story secret, including the objects that she had received and brought back with her. After a lengthy discussion, the group had decided that seeing as though they had been staying upon the island for two weeks that they had best made plans to leave and make for Ravinston School. As for Merlin and Welwyn, they had not returned much to the relief of the company who thought it best that Eveline stay away from her son, the dynamics of time and the thread of fate causing them to feel unsafe and unsure about any potential meeting. The day’s passed much as before, with Eveline’s mornings and afternoons taken up with lessons, mainly taught by Edward. When she was not focused on her magical lessons she was alongside a dozen other young students forced to take part in physical defence lessons, which often left her exhausted and in pain during the evenings. She was gifted in the use of daggers and a keen learner with a sword, however she lacked any kind of talent in the art of archery much to her disappointed as it seemed the young female students fared very well in that particular area.

During the nights, Eveline found herself unable to sleep, what with the purging emotions of leaving her husband behind, not knowing whether or not Galean was alive and unsure of where her son was located, she found her mind and soul overwhelmed and unable to slow down. Often she would sit by the window of her room and look out across the wild sea where a heavy full moon could be seen in the horizon. Within her hands would lie open The Prince by Machiavelli, given to her by Olivia who believed her political education needed to be improved upon. Never before in her young life had so many pairs of eyes been upon her, and never had she truly felt as though she were surrounded by friends. She wished to ask her new companions if they too would return to Meer alongside her, but she knew that their lives where here upon this planet and she would only be asking not out of need but out of selfish longing. On one such turbulent night, Eveline sat up quietly with Bran who was perched upon the window sill, his beak high in the air.

“I have always been able to look into people’s souls and quiet confidentially read them,” she muttered aloud as she tightened her warm shawl about her body. “But Merlin? I cannot see into his soul and when I try, I feel as though I am looking at a great many faces. Why do you think that is Bran?” she asked the raven with a raised brow. Bran squawked quietly and shook his small head. “He is as old as this earth and so to understand him one must spend a great deal of time stripping away the layers of eternity. He is mysterious, powerful and alluring to all those who look upon him with eyes of devotion, but to me he is an old man who has lost his way, a man who was once content to be a guardian of this world, who was content with the great authority and power bestowed upon him. But now? He is content no more, he has taken my son from me for reasons I do not fully understand, but I doubt they are honourable. Power corrupts no matter your good intentions at the start, in the end you give way to the perilous seeds of greed and conceit. Is it the same for my grandfather? Will it be the same for me?”

Eveline drew in a sigh and clutched her book of mediations by Aurelius to her.

“The more I come to understand my destiny and my future, I fear it,” she whispered to the night sky. “I can feel the power of the universe within me like a strong current raging, I can manipulate anything about me to my own satisfaction and I can hear the voices of my ancestors and descendants if I focus on the stars. Everything is now within my grasp and I awaiting to be tested. Yet as the light burns brighter so does the depth of the darkness which too seems to be a prevalent as the light. I wonder to myself,” she turned down to Bran with wide eyes. “How easy it would be to divide myself into two people, to serve the purposes of both light and dark. To have it all.” Eveline quickly shut her mouth as the dark words poured forth from her lips. “The greed of the night that my guardians and my God have been endlessly fighting against are as critical to the nature of mankind as the light and so I ask you this Bran…can the light survive without its nemesis the night? Have my ancestors been as much the creators of darkness as they have the light? Are my ancestors to blame?”

With an agitated groan, Eveline rose from her seat beside the window and began to pace about her room, the beads of anxious sweat upon her head increasing as her confused emotions arose quite violently.

“It cannot survive without its significant other, as I cannot survive without him!” she said loudly, her long hair dancing about her body. “If I kill Lagar and my brother, am I giving way to a darker and much fouler monster which lies within the shadows? Will I give way to the enemy which really resides within me?” Eveline raised her hands to the temples of her head, her hefty book falling upon the ground. “What is happening to me?”

“You are beginning to understand,” came a deep voice from the corner of the room. Eveline turned abruptly to face her grandfather who stood quiet still before her, dressed simply in a cloak of navy blue, his long hair tied back and his hands folded before him.

“How…how?”

“Do you think I would leave you alone whilst you are doubting your existence and mine?” Heiden said kindly. “No, I have been watching from afar as always.”

“I am failing,” Eveline said with a disgruntled groan as she fell upon her bed.

“No you are learning and beginning to understand the truth of who you are,” Heiden said quite calmly, his body still and tall.

“Darkness does not originate from our enemies grandfather, it comes from us!”

“That is true,” Heiden said with a nod. “And it flows through all we create.”

“But they are not the true enemy, we are…we are the perpetrators of the light,” Eveline said with a dramatic sob.

“Darkness and cruelty indeed stems from our blood, but that does not make us the perpetrators, if we choose to rise against it,” Heiden answered plainly. “I cannot help being the son of my father no more than you can, but that does not mean that we cannot choose freely to uphold the laws of the light and fight against the soldiers of the night. I create because I wish to see life grow and prosper, because as a painter with his art, he wishes to give birth to something extraordinary and beautiful. But that does not mean that darkness does not lie within the painting…there is something that you must understand and understand well child…” Heiden walked over to Eveline and bent down before her, taking her shaking hands within his own. “Some of the most beautiful creatures known to mankind have been the product of darkness and some of the vilest creatures have been the product of light. Life is not black and white, there is much that lies between. My children are not blessed with the great powers that have been bestowed upon us. The fight they have with what is right and what is wrong is dependent upon their own free will and conscience. Our fight however is ancient and complicated because it lies with ourselves. Man may blame external forces for their misery, but you and I have no one else to blame but ourselves and the blood that runs through us. You like I will look upon the sufferings of this universe and instead of preying on another in anger, you will only ever have to prey on yourself, because all that you look upon is a reflection of who you are, which is why you must fight to stay in the light, you must use your powers to create beautiful and light filled objects, animals and beings. The only thing that will save you from the curse of our ancestors is to know that all you have touched has been of light and not darkness, but that comes at a price…”

“What do you mean?” Eveline whispered deeply.

“You like I will be faced with great tests and you may fail or succeed,” Heiden said seriously. “Everything that you do will have a ripple effect and the older and the more insightful you become, the tests will harden and your once innocent intentions will swiftly alter. You may find yourself uncaring of those you protect, exhausted with keeping the candle alight and may even fall victim to the perils of anger and bitterness and may seek the shadows in which to hide.”

“How do you justify the deaths of those you have ordered to kill?” Eveline said with desperation.

“Violence is a marred subject,” Heiden replied truthfully. “A weapon in which used wrongly can cause disastrous events. However it is a part of our nature and acts as a defence, if used with the right intentions then it favours the light.”

“There is so much still that I do not understand…my abilities to see into the future, the sheer power that I wield…my son,” she said aloft, with her hands in the air.

“My father had your gift, the gift to be able to look into the future and it drove him mad because he refused to take control of it…he was so paranoid about his enemies that he spent most of his time within the realms of the future and very little in the present,” Heiden said with knowing eyes. “It is a great and terrible gift to have and if you do not learn to control it, it too will drive you mad. To change the future event means that something within the present or past with alter and you may think it for the best, but history has taught me that it is not so. Once you tamper with time, you tamper with life and the possibility of inadvertently ruining creation strengthens. Time was created by our forefathers and weaved by their hands alone, it is not for us to manipulate and plunder because we have the power too.”

“So you have seen my son who has not yet been formed in my womb, but who lives here upon this earth as a man…under the protection of Merlin?”

“Yes I have seen him,” Heiden acknowledged aloud as he stood upon his feet once more and turned from Eveline. “I have not the gift of foresight and so I cannot see into your future or his past…I know he exists, but with whom the father is, I do not know. Why Merlin is guarding him I cannot guess…can you?”

“No…no,” Eveline said quietly as she rummaged through her mind. “I have seen into my future…I have seen various predictions of my future and in each I bare a son.”

“You cannot speak to anyone of what you have seen,” Heiden said with roughness in his voice. “Not even I, for if you do you may bring upon yourself and him more trouble than you can bare.”

“Grandfather, what I have seen terrifies me…and if you too could see into my future, you too be terrified.”

“Then do your best to avert it,” Heiden said with softening eyes. “If you have seen your future, then you have the means to change it if you will.”

“That is why I must find Galean, he must survive,” Eveline said with emotion. “He must live.”

“Celestine look at me!” Heiden said with a sudden pace of words. Eveline looked up into her grandfather’s ageless face. “Troubles comes swiftly upon the wings of the night…those who would see you fail are coming and you must face them and defeat them, it is your first test.”

“The knights you mean?” Eveline said with raised brows.

“Not just the knights,” Heiden said with closed eyes. “I cannot see them but I can feel the shadows of men who are nigh upon the horizon, and I fear one of them may be close to you…maybe close to me.”

“But who could it be?” Eveline said with energy.

“Why is my guard holding your son and my descendant captive? Do you know?”

“No, I thought at first that maybe he is protecting him…”

“Keep your eyes open and your ears alert, Merlin is shrouded by devoted and fanatical followers, he is not easy to control, nor is he one for being ordered, at least not anymore,” Heiden said with a shake of his head. “I and my high council have tried to replace him, but he is very powerful and if he turns from me, his power would be most sought after by our enemies. He walks a fine line.”

“You think he is using my son as a weapon?”

“It is possible, but only you can find out what his true intentions are. Merlin is hard to understand and his intentions have always been dubious,” Heiden said. “He may very well be loyal to you and myself, but wizards with great power and authority loose themselves and their eyes often turn from what is right. You must seek him out.”

“But he is nowhere to be found,” Eveline said as she paced about her room before Heiden. “I have tried looking for him everywhere, but he is nowhere.”

“Celestine you are the granddaughter of a God, your powers are beyond those of ordinary guardians and wizards and once you realise this, you will find him.”

Eveline stopped pacing and turned to her grandfather who came to her and placed his large hands upon her cheeks, lifting her wide golden eyes up into his own.

“Look into your mind and you will find him and when you do, you must use all of the knowledge you have acquired so far in your training and challenge him, and remember,” Heiden looked down into her eyes with wisdom. “He may be older than you, he may possess great powers and you may find yourself submitting to them. But if you search hard enough you will find the strength to overcome those who would see you as a weakling. But remember…if you take a life, a life elsewhere will be taken in consequence. We do not kill likely and without thought of the innocent lives of others. If you intend on taking a life…be sure to deal with the consequence’s first.”

“I would never take a life grandfather, it is not within me to take life,” Eveline whispered deeply, her eyelids fluttering hard.

“That it what I believed when I was young and naive and thought myself a saviour to the universe, not mad like my father and not reserved like my mother,” Heiden answered seriously. “But you would cry if you knew the amount of lives I have taken and the amount of innocent lives taken against my will. And you too will face the same fate if you wish to keep yourself upon the throne. You will have to face the moral compass and the challenges before you will never end. But do not allow yourself to fall prey to the power of death and the power of violence, you must practice control and do not encourage greed.”

“How do I defeat a great wizard?”

“You source and identify his weakness and use it to your advantage as all great warriors must,” Heiden said with a bittersweet smile, his heavily arched brows furrowed.

“And Merlin’s is?”

“He is weak without his power, he does not depend upon a sword for defence he depends upon magic, if you can take that magic from him then you will be advantageous,” Heiden said darkly. “Remember, your aim is not to kill him, your aim is to disarm him and question his motives. What becomes of him is my doing.”

“I understand,” Eveline said with a nod of her head.

“Whatever you do, do not seek out Welwyn, no matter your need too,” Heiden said with determination. “If you do, you may change the future in a way that cannot be undone.”

“But what if he is in need of aid?”

“I cannot aid him, no one can, he must find the aid he needs himself,” Heidan said with a sigh.

“But why?”

“You know why,” Heiden said gruffly. “If you wish his future to be bright then do not manipulate his present self. If you wish to alter his future then you must wait until you give birth to him, only then can your actions alter the fate of your son.”

“So I must do nothing, I must stay away from him,” Eveline said with emotion.

“You must stand against your maternal instincts for now.”

Heiden’s hands fell from Eveline’s face.

“I must leave,” he said with kindness. “Remember what I have told you, the shadows of darkness are close now.”

“When will I see you again?” Eveline enquired as she kept her feet rooted to the ground.

“I will always be watching from afar, but I cannot earn your destiny for you, you must do that for yourself.”

The form of Heiden began to blur and fade away into the darkness as he spoke aloud. Eveline watched as his presence left the room and fell to her bed when alone once more. She had to seek out the wizard and disarm him, but how to do that?

*

The great hall was quiet and dark as Eveline stepped into it from the small door which led up to her quarters of the ancient castle. A little of the moonlight streamed in through the large arched windows at the neck of the hall, illuminating the throne of Merlin and the tables and chairs. A slight chill swept over her as she came further into the hall and looked about. She had run over the conversation with her grandfather a dozen times before making the decision to make for the hall. She was dressed in a long nightgown and had over her a thick dressing gown which fell to her slippered feet. Her long auburn hair fell loosely down her lean back and her bright golden eyes were alert and searching. Heiden believed Merlin to be a threat, but why? All the great books that spoke of the ancient wizard spoke of him grandly as though in honour of his greatness, but Eveline knew only too well what power could do those with good intentions, for it was her biggest fear. Quietly she stood before the throne with her arms folded before her. She had to use her mind to find the wizard and she felt as though the ancient spirits of the past had led her down through the castle to the great hall. As she walked down the narrow stairs she had realised that if she were to look for Merlin then she would have to find an object that bore traces of him upon it and that was when she thought of the throne. Eveline turned and sat down upon the wooden throne and gripped the arms of the chair with her hands and closed her eyes. For a moment she cleared her mind and filled her senses with the silence, before opening them once more, this time she finding herself among the stars. She felt nought the usual nausea of time travel and found herself not fearing the great fall below, instead she fixed her mind on Merlin and found herself moving through space and time until she came to a door which hung in mid space. She used not her hands to open the door, but found it opened willingly as she drew near. With a tight force, she was sucked into the dark void until her feet met with the floor of what looked to be a garden. Still it was dark as she found her feet and looked about. There were great trees, taller than she had ever before encountered and above her the moon was full as it was upon earth. Her mind still focused, her feet began to move and found herself being guided through the quiet garden until it opened up into a great space in which before her a great and wide tree stood within the centre, and standing before it was a man.

She knew it was Merlin but found herself trembling with anxiety when noticing the absence of her son. As she walked towards Merlin, she searched the area but found it empty but for herself and the wizard who turned slowly to her.

“I see you have learned the art of mind walking,” he said deeply, his bright blue eyes sparkling.

“I have been walking between worlds ever since I can remember, thinking it only within my mind and that I was merely dreaming,” Eveline returned with her head held high, for she had no idea how to disarm the great wizard.

“That is a rare gift indeed,” Merlin said with a tilted head as though curious by her words.

“I have always felt an infinity with the night sky, as though I belonged to it in comparison to the earthly world I was brought up in.”

“That is no great shock, you are the grand daughter to Heiden, it is only right that you feel intricately bound to the universe,” Merlin said as he moved towards her, his arms by his side and his eyes intense.

“Where are we?” Eveline enquired as she gazed upon the great tree. At first she had suspected she was back again within the garden of Calhuni, but as she made her way through it, she knew she wasn’t.

“You have read the bible I take it?” Merlin asked aloud.

“Yes, partially,” Eveline replied with an air of confusion.

“I assume then you know of the Garden of Eden?”

“Yes but that is merely a story, the bible is a tale,” Eveline said with a shrug.

“Parts of it yes,” Merlin said with a smile as he turned about to face the tree. “However the story of Adam and Eve is no tale.”

“How can that be?”

“It is quite simple the story of mankind’s creation, there can be no end without a beginning,” Merlin said with a wave of his hand.

“But two people cannot possible populate the earth, that is simply illogical,” Eveline replied as she followed the wizard.

“Of course,” Merlin replied with a slight laugh. “However God must begin somewhere.”

“This is the garden of Eden?” Eveline said breathlessly.

“Indeed, this is where mankind was born,” Merlin said. “There are many worlds within this great universe, all of which inhabit various life forms and races of men, but the race of mankind upon our own earth began here as did its downfall.”

“I don’t understand…” Eveline said as she turned to the wizard, who stood a foot above her.

“It was your great grandfather who created life on earth following in the footsteps of his ancestors who had done the same, and all of them had one common theme,” Merlin turned to Eveline. “They failed to create perfection. No matter the lengths they went too, they could not remedy a people who were free from darkness and sin. And really the answer to their failings is quite simple…”

“We are not without imperfection,” Eveline finished quietly.

“No, but you had that figured out quiet early on,” Merlin said with a smile. “No, perfection is impossible even to the Gods. But free will, that is a gift that only the Gods can impart with. Some of your ancestors choose not to impart free will upon their people and so they became something akin to slaves and the Gods grew wearisome of them. But then your great grandfather decided to give to his people the gift of free will, a gift only ever given to those who lived within the realm of Heaven. It was a great risk, considering the great breach that occurred amongst those in Heaven and the great rebellion that followed. But still he thought it wise to take the risk and he was pleased. He created this garden and spent a great deal of time here alone with his thoughts and his madness. He wanted to create a race superior to any other and so instead of wielding a human from the earth, he took the rib from his late father and another from his late mother and formed the first man and woman. They were to be the first guardians of earth and those in their bloodline would protect the earth until its dying breathe. There powers were unstoppable and no mere wizard or witch could ever equal them in strength or knowledge. To the first humans he moulded from the earth he gave to each of them a leaf from this tree, a leaf filled with the ancient knowledge of the universe. All of the first beings ate their leaves and were sent wide and far to begin the race of mankind, each filled with a knowledge equal to the guardians of Heaven.”

Eveline felt her mouth open slightly as the story of mankind fell from Merlin’s lips smoothly. She had never before heard the true story of mankind and was shocked into silence upon hearing it. Merlin sensing her silence, talked further.

“But soon the darker traits of our Gods took a hold of mankind and their descent into war, greed and deceit was soon to follow. Many of the stories recorded in the bible have threads of truth attached to them, as all stories of mankind do,” Merlin said with a saddened gaze. “Yet not all were driven by the traits of sin, many used the knowledge given to them to further the minds of mankind and thus the mind of human beings has evolved and stretched way beyond what Hazog believed. But in despite of all this, the madness of Hazog deepened and the pain and suffering of his own creation was too much for him and so he came back here to the garden and was met by a snake.” Eveline felt her mouth and throat dry at the mention of the snake. Merlin looked at her with knowing eyes. “Yes you know of the snake for he too bite you.”

“I don’t understand,” Eveline said quietly as Merlin walked towards the tree and picked off an apple and turned to her.

“Lagar had fallen from Heaven under the reign of Hazog’s father, Aurel who cast him out into the depths of Hell below,” Merlin said as he turned the apple about in his hand. “Hazog and Lagar were once very great friends and I don’t believe he ever truly got over Lagar’s betrayal. Hazog like you was gifted with foresight and long had Lagar been in search of his old friend, for foresight is if in the hands of those who would see it to aid their own war efforts, the greatest and most terrifying of gifts to behold.”

“But the snake is separate to Lagar,” Eveline said with trembling hands.

“Lagar is deceitful and crafty, he knows that being but himself makes him vulnerable,” Merlin said with a shake of his head. “And so he has made himself unobtainable to his enemies.”

“But how?”

“When we love another we give ourselves physically and thus a child is born,” Merlin said darkly as he came to stand before Eveline with the apple within his hand. “Lagar’s power isn’t enough to defend him from Heiden or you, and so he lured Hazog to the garden and murdered him. When he died, Lagar took the seed from Hazog and planted it deep within his own.”

“How is that possible?” Eveline stuttered, her arms falling away from her. She turned upon her feet. “Why hasn’t my grandfather told me of this?”

“There are secrets that not even your grandfather can speak of, for many of them blacken his name,” Merlin said slowly. Eveline stopped pacing and turned to the wizard. “His war upon those who serve Lagar is dark and bloody, his hands are drenched with the innocent lives taken in order to preserve the light. There is no hero or heroine in this story, only sacrifice and blood.”

“That is why he raped my mother?”

“He will never give up until the royal family belongs to him. If your brother kills you, then he will be King of all living things, and he will open the gates of Heaven to his father and to the darkness that follows,” Merlin said with a groan.

“But Lagar will not be King?”

“Lagar’s body may fail him, but he will die knowing that the race of mankind and the race of the Gods have been tainted and will never and can never be undone. His undoing of the universe will forever reign prevalent until the light of the suns fade and the planets die,” Merlin said as Eveline looked into his face.

“What does he truly wish to destroy?” Eveline asked aloud, her words tainted with anger.

“What your grandfather bestowed upon my world and yours,” Merlin said simply. “Free will. He will never give up his search for you, he will never ever give up. That is why I have your son, which is why you gave him to me, because he belongs to your brother, because he belongs to Lagar.”

“No…no that is impossible, that cannot be…that is not my fate,” Eveline whispered painfully.

“You have seen your fate child, you have seen the future of our universe,” Merlin said with kindness in his eyes.

“But…but it can change? Can it not?” Eveline said in desperation.

“There are two paths before you now, if you fail in saving Galean, if you fail in saving your people, then I am afraid that your fate will be sealed.”

“Why did I give him to you?” Eveline asked as she moved towards the wizard with dark eyes. “Why you?”

“Because I am the only surviving guardian who has the keys to this garden. This is the only place in which your son can survive until you come for him,” Merlin said. “But in order to keep him here, to keep him safe you must take the keys from me and keep them.”

“What of the other guardians?” Eveline asked with a confused gaze.

“They live no more,” Merlin said plainly. “They understood my reasons and so I took their keys and now it is your turn to take them from me.”

“Then give them to me,” Eveline said with her hand outstretched.

“Were it so simple,” Merlin said with a dark smile. “I would have given you them long ago child. But life is not simple and your life will never be free from the perils of others. You must take the keys from me, they will only give themselves to you, if you…take them from me.”

“But who then will guard the earth? Who then will protect the people?”

“Find my son and give him the keys, he will know what to do,” Merlin said with strength and courage.

“But he would have to kill me… would he not?”

A silence fell upon the garden as Merlin and Eveline looked at one another intently.

“Yes.”

Eveline coughed deeply and bent her body over.

“This doesn’t make sense, none of this makes sense.”

“Do you remember the story of Christ and his resurrection?” Merlin asked softly as he laid a hand upon her.

“What of it?” Eveline said as she tried to control the urge to vomit.

“That is your test child,” Merlin said quietly into her ear. “If you are powerful enough, then you will rise again from death and will hold ultimate power over Lagar.”

“That is why I gave my child to you isn’t it?” Eveline whispered, her chest rising and falling deeply.

Eveline stood still as the wizards words fell from his lips.

“Because I faced death…”

“You gave him to me, not just because you faced death but because you wished to save your son from harm,” Merlin said with a smile. “You understood and understand that it is not only blood that determines our fate it those who bring you up and more importantly it is love and you saw love in the eyes of your child and like any mother, could not give up in the seed of hope. And you are right, he is a great man and will one day be a great ruler of the universe, despite his blood.”

“But if he is Galean’s son?”

“He is still a threat if not a greater threat to Lagar,” Merlin said with a nod. “He is safe here until my son and you come for him and bring him home.”

“I thought you corrupt…dark…” Eveline said with a wave of her hand. “I was willing to hand you over to my grandfather…why? Why would he do this?”

“To protect you and to protect himself,” Merlin said with furrowed brows. “I ask that you don’t judge him until you know yourself better and the true role that you will one day take on.”

“If I kill you, another innocent life will be taken,” Eveline said as the moral robe fell upon her shoulders. “I cannot do that.”

“If you don’t, another will and they will take the keys and your son,” Merlin said firmly as he brought forth a knife from within his robe. “You are too clever to risk the future of the universe merely because of one life and morality.”

Eveline felt the cold blade fall into her hands and stepped back, her golden eyes upon the blade. A cool breeze ran through the garden, causing the great leaves of the tree to sway before her.

“If I were to not care about one life, what kind of ruler would I be?” she asked, lifting her golden gaze to that of the austentiously still wizard, whose eyes were upon the night sky above. “Where is my son?”

“Safe,” Merlin answered as he closed his eyes. “Do not search for him until it is time, or you will alter the very fibres of the future.”

“Did he murder those children in Ravinston?”

“No, no Welwyn has been searching for the murderer. He was trying to protect the children,” Merlin said with his hands outstretched.

Eveline drew in a sigh of relief and felt her hand tighten upon the hilt of the blade.

“Trust in yourself child and trust in your own judgement,” Merlin said as he grasped Eveline’s hand and brought the tip of the knife to his chest. “It will be the voice of truth, and do not be angry with your grandfather, this will grieve him more than you know.” Eveline felt her lips tremble and her hand shake as the wizard looked up once more to the sky above. “I have often wondered what death would feel like, having seen the faces of death for so long. Now that it has arrived, I feel…I feel…ready for the journey ahead.”

“There is no journey ahead,” Eveline whispered.

“Or so we have been taught to believe, but maybe you will think differently one day,” Merlin said with a knowing smile as he forced her hand forward, the tip of the blade sinking into his heart. There was no great cry that came forth from the wizard’s lips, only a thin river of blood which poured from his mouth and ran down his throat. Eveline falling under his weight, fell to the ground alongside the wizard, whose now faint blue eyes were upon her. “I see…,” he stuttered, his eyes now fluttering slowly. “I see…time.” Eveline cradled the lifeless body of the wizard in her arms and felt the hot buds of tears flow from her eyes, each of them falling upon the old man’s skin which now had turned a pale white. Closing her eyes she let out a cry to the Heavens above and let her head fall upon his own forehead. As she cried, she heard another, deeper cry from close by and looked up quickly. It was the cry of a man. Her golden eyes drenched, Eveline searched the nearby forest and caught the gaze of the man, whose own eyes were as golden as hers. She knew it was her son and forced her eyes to stay upon his own as they both wept aloud. After several minutes, Welwyn turned from his mother and disappeared from sight, leaving her alone with Merlin. As she wept, she began to see a necklace form about the neck of the wizard. The necklace had upon it four golden keys that shone and glimmered against the darkness of the sky. With cold hands, Eveline unclasped the necklace from the wizard and held it up before her. With swiftness and surprise, the necklace broke away from her hand and bound itself about her neck and disappeared from sight.

*

Eveline stood before the great tree and looked down to where she had buried the wizard. Everything now began to make sense, her life, her present and her future. Her son would be safe until she returned in the future and the garden would remain a secret in which only Anvin and Welwyn would have knowledge of. She would return to the Isle of Man and prepare for her journey to the stone circle in Ravinston, and she would return to her people and find Galean. Everything now depended upon his survival.

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