Mordred 17.1

17.

The Previous Realm

Merlin walked up to the steel structure to have a closer look at the figure standing inside. He was marvelled by the appearance of the figure; standing at the height of man and yet there was an aura of mythic. He walked around the structure and tested the strength of the bars. It was manmade but the properties of the bars were of a difference as if it was enhanced with some spiritual spells.

“Surely the great Master of the art crafts need not ponder more on my holding cell.” The one named the Archangel of Death spoke up. “No structure may hold me unless I allowed it.”

With the archangel spread out the wings to the side and the steel bars fell apart. With a sweep of the wings, the bars were sent to the far walls spearing onto the flesh or stone walls in its path. The surrounding audience called for the guards but none dare moved against the evil incarnated archangel.

“Feeble structure for one who is the master of the all.” Azrael voiced out while he stepped forth to meet Merlin. The old master had raised his defence and readied himself with the counter attack but he soon felt himself frozen in his act.

“Surely, you do not intend to strike me.” Azrael looked to the old master eyes and then smiled. “You whom I admired should not be my foe.”

Unseen by the archangel, one of the wild creatures of furred nature sprang forth at him. With a wave of the hand, Azrael had the man wolf slammed into the far wall. He then turned to look at the King of Serpent.

“You have poor manners when it comes to greeting your guest.” Azrael told Keb. “I will tolerate that for now, but be known that I can be nastier than this.”

The archangel spread out his hands and from it the red shaded flames flared upwards from it. It struck at the ceiling stone walls and tore into it to create a hole. The stones that fell down were red hot brimstones that reached the flooring. The gathered at the flooring ran clear to avoid the hot stones by climbing or pushing into each other. The attended rushed for the exits but there were knocking and kicking into each other.

“I …” Azrael called out but was interrupted by Merlin.

“Enough of it, you imbecile.” Merlin shouted. “I am not here to view your acts.” Merlin called on the wind to sweep the brimstones off into the dark corners, and then he directed his mental push at the archangel. The later was blasted by the mental push but he stood his ground. His feet firmly grounded prevented him from being slammed into the walls. Azrael then laughed out loud at the old master. He then paced himself towards Keb before turning back.

“So my pyro act was not worth your view. But this one is to all of you.” With that, Azrael raised his hands. “Show your allegiance to your rightful master.”

Among the gathered, a number of hands were seen hovering above their heads from the blood drinkers to the furry ones. 

They were great in numbers and when ordered to show their loyalty, they became more aggressive in manners.

“Keb, among your people there are mine. We numbered no less than one third of yours, but outside of these walls, we hold more numbers.” Azrael then paraded over to Merlin. “Your people are more for they were mine before they crossed over.”

“I shall not bow to you, vile creature.” Merlin shouted out. “I have heard of your kind from the ancient books. They spoke of the fallen ones from the heavenly planes to here. Grigori was their names.”

“Grigori? Yes, some of us were termed as it. But do not bite the master who showed you the ways of the Gods. I brought you the art of fire and weapons. With those, you have prospered as a whole. Out gift make you superior to the other creatures, and yet you forsaken us when the so named righteous prophets spoke of us as if we were the evil incarnated.” 

Azrael paced himself in front of the leaders then. “Merlin, behold your realm is in danger. A vortex will soon come over and all that you see here may be destroyed.”

Merlin looked in disbelieved at the words spoken by Azrael. He had known about the vortex from his own knowledge but to be told by this archangel distressed him.

“Surely at your era, could you have thought of any ways to stop it? Or perhaps avert it. Your current inventions are primitive in design when it was only the horse driven carts that took you long distance. Such there were your art crafts but have you ever wondered could it counter a large vortex?” Azrael had his expression frowned when you spoke of the vortex. “Of your crafts, who penned down those ancient books. Or gave the crafts by birth to the gifted ones?”

“A fool could tell you that it was given to you. And only fools will think that they knew it by themselves.” Azrael mocked Merlin on it. “I did it all for you but we attached a prize to it. I have a need of your skills. The one thing I truly lacked is the innovations that. You were to carry us over, so that we could unite with our other brethren of the Fallen. We were scattered in the last Great War with the others, and spread out to the different dimensions. Now we are united once more.”

“Behold the Grigori that survived here.” The voice of Azrael reverted off the walls. From within walls of the cave, there were rumblings and then the loose stones on the ceiling and walls then crumbled. From the walls, figures towering over three times the height of Man stepped out to the cave flooring. Their frame was dark in shade and cladded in stones. They stepped forth among the gathered that have pushed themselves to the corners and walls to avoid the gigantic Grigori. Merlin counted a total of twenty five of them then.

“A fraction of their actual numbers, behold the Grigori or you may termed them as the Watchers.  They were here before the passages of time were ever recorded. They were to observe but soon overcome by their mind to live among those they were to observe. It was claimed that the Great Flood swept away those dark times and the Grigori were interned in the stones of wall.”

“Now I have freed them. They are not our friends but our brothers.” Azrael looked at Merlin and then at Keb. “You have a call to make. With or against us, that’s the call.” 

Mordred 16.2

The New Realm

“This weapon has more range than ours.” Gabriel looked to the rifle on his arms. “They called it the SVD. It’s older in design but it’s still an effective weapon.”

The SVD Dragunov was Russian made and designated as a marksman rifle. The shooter to be classified as a marksman was able to shoot a man sized target at five hundred metres with a probability of neat kill at two hundred metres. 

“Unfortunately, we cannot use it as we like here.” Gabriel had volunteered to skin the hare I caught. It was easy with my crafts when I used the wind to slow it down and the earth to create the narrow holding area. “It would have brought down the elves on us.”

 “No offence meant.” Gabriel smiled at Leggins who was sorting out the fruits which he had collected. “You kind were not so kind to our presence.”

“None taken.” Leggins smiled back. “We heard of your kind but we have rarely met.”

“I can assure you that the ….Angels is expert at hiding from the prying looks. We have been around long to know where to stay hidden.” Gabriel replied. “Even in this land you called the Divide.”

I shuffled on my feet at the restlessness inside me. One hour ago, we were at each other throats and then during dusk, we were all seated before the camp fire. We met Gabriel in the forest but he was soon to convince us of his alliance. He sought the Fallen to bring them back to their rightful path. It was an uneasy alliance between the five of us, but I made the decision for them.

“Gabriel, tell us of the Fallen.” I hit on the issue which was on our mind. Leggins glared at me as if I had over step my line. If was him who told us of the Fallen, and it was also him who exposed the Angel. Gabriel stopped in his task and looked at me.

“We are not the Fallen. We are the Angels, and we sought them….I stand corrected. We watched over them so that they will not cross the line of their authority.” Gabriel cleared his throat and then continued. “We were once all together as Angels. We are the Guardians of the Dimensions for which here is one of the seven layers.”

Gabriel looked at all of us and then smiled.

“Perhaps we needed a more pleasant place to listen to this tale.” Gabriel voiced out and then waved his right hand. We found ourselves in a different forest or it was an orchard.

“Welcome to Eden. Our garden in the Dimensions.” Gabriel announced to us. “Not many come here.”

The garden was beautiful with the bed of flowers of multitude colours. It was not that but there were the flowing streams and the enchanting fountains of varied designs. The garden was also filled with trees which were bearing fruits and there were the goblets of wine at the base of the trees. That was not all for we were in a dimension where gravity was defied. We were have no flat plateau which our feet rest on but we could stepped on different levels be it vertical or diagonal yet we are secured in the footing. It was like walking on a plateau with no set flooring or ceilings or walls, but you could be standing up and yet another looked at you as if you were walking on the ceiling.

It was a multi-dimensional plateau.

“It’s impossible.” Leggins called out while he grabbed the tree trunk and yet he was seen standing upside down to me. Rumpel was leaning on another tree trunk and yet he was seen diagonal to me.

“Yes, you are all in the Garden.” Aladdin was the calm one while he sat down by the tree trunk with the goblet of wine at his lips. “I have been into one like this when my Guardian took me there.”

 I looked at Gabriel who was opposite me in the plateau and at ease with the looks of things. The Angel strolled over to my tree trunk with his feet stepping over the branches.

“This is the concept of dimensions known to some of you.” Gabriel smiled. “They named it the Theory of Everything. It’s the belief that the universe is made up of ten dimensions; it’s an attempt to reconcile the standard model of particle physics with the existence of gravity.”

“I will make it simple for you. Dimensions are simply the different facets of what we perceive to be reality. There are three dimensions that surround us on a daily basis; the sight of the distance, the view on the sides, and height of what our sight can see up and down.” Gabriel motioned with his arms. “Beyond these three visible sights which are also dimensions, the one with knowledge believed there are many more. These different aspects are what we perceived as the Universe.”

I nodded as once Merlin told me that we lived in a bigger realm called the Universe. We are only a speck on that level. It was mind boggling then but I was made to listen to the old master rave on about it for hours. It may awe Aladdin then but for me it was all fables and tales to amuse the young ones.

“These are the basic forces of nature, and all the elementary particles contained within it. To them there are ten dimensions. The first dimension is a description of distance as measured by the straight line, which exists only in terms of length. Once you add to that the second dimension, the height, you get an object that becomes a two dimensional shape.  The third dimension involves depth and gives all objects a sense of area and a cross-section. Your body is a good reference for the third dimension.” With that Gabriel grabbed his own arms to show the concept. He then waved out his hands as if he was grabbing at some items in the air.  

“Beyond these three lies the other seven dimensions which are not seen by us but which can still be perceived. It has a direct effect on the Universe and reality as we know it. The fourth dimension is time, which governs the properties of all known matter at any given point. It’s what you may term as now. Along with the three other dimensions, knowing an objects position in time is essential to plotting its position in the universe. The other dimensions are where the deeper possibilities come into play, and explaining their interaction with the others is where things get particularly tricky for us too.” Gabriel stopped at then. He looked to our faces ad registered the looks form the bore to the bewildered expressions. He was to speak on whether it was on the same issue but Aladdin was insistent to know more.

“Okay, I will explain more. There are the fifth, sixth and seventh dimensions are where the notion of possible worlds arises. It’s in there we would see a plane of possible parallel worlds, where we could compare and position all the possible universes with same or differing conditions. Then there is the eighth dimension again gives us a plane of such possible universe histories, each of which begins with different initial conditions and branches out infinitely.” Gabriel had then used a stick to draw the straight line on the ground. He then moved the stick to different points on the line and made a marker there.

“In the ninth dimension, we can compare all the possible universe histories, starting with all the different possible laws of physics and initial conditions.” Gabriel drew a parallel line with different markers.

“In the tenth and final dimension, we arrive at the point in which everything possible and imaginable is covered.” Gabriel then drew interconnecting lines between the two parallel lines.

“That was your vortex doing and drew you here.”

Mordred 16.1

16.

The Previous Realm

Merlin sat among them who have attended the feast called for by Keb, It was the gathering of the Serpents in their Great Hall. The Hall was in a large deep cave which could house a thousand guests but that feast then there were several hundred for there was no need for seating nor were all of them standing on the cave floor. There were many clinging onto the side of the cave walls by the nocks and cracks.

“It was never said that the Serpents were only of the slithering ones, but we have allies among us with the blood suckers, and the night creatures.” Keb was seated on the throne at the end of the cave. His throne was carved into the cave walls appearing like the hood of the raised neck of the striking serpent with its double long fangs that protruded from the top. 

The seat which the King of the Serpent sat on was shaped like the double forked tongue that formed the throne side seating to hold the arms. The King was dressed in the loose tunic and hugging pants tucked into the knee high boots. His body had healed when his strength recovered earlier but his heart still ached for Neheb. To the right side of the throne, the ally of the Serpents stood tall towering over the King. It was the blood sucking monster named by its namesake the Blood Prince. The Prince was a tall figure towering at over twice the height of man was clothed in the red cloak over the dark suit complete with the red cravat at the neckline. The Prince had his hair free flowing to the waist but his hands were covered with the dark gloves. The Prince was holding a chalice of blood in his left hand.

To the left side of the throne stood a monstrous figure of furry covered skin with the snort of the wolf with the fang bared on the half opened jaws. The figure stood on its feet unlike its cousin the wolves, but its lower limbs were bended like that of the wolf. Its height was the height of man, but the claws on its upper limbs was exceptionally long at half the length of the limbs.

“You have assembled a great audience for me.” Merlin smiled at the Serpent King.  “All the better for me to know who I am to slay.”

“Slay? I doubt you could kill all of us here. Our actual numbers are larger than this whole Hall but I will admit these are the leaders. In the past years, we have been gathering more of our followers by choice or by force. We numbered now also among the people of the other realm. ”

“Fabulous speeches Keb but tell me the truth of my calling.” Merlin sounded irritated of his idling then. He had refused the drinks and food but his watchful eyes were storing the identities to his mind. “I am sure the Prince had more to do than stand there like your cur.”

That drew the wrath of the Prince who spread out his arms with the cape spread out behind him. From it, the flying cave flying reptiles flew out in the packs. The winged blood sucking dark creatures with their talons move on the sonar instinct flew towards Merlin. The later called up a magical shield but the creatures did not attack him.

“Call them back.” Keb calmly told the Prince. Without any sound, the Prince waved his arms and the dark creatures swept into his cape.

“Pardon the Prince, Merlin. Youth have their impatient manners unlike us older masters.” Keb assured Merlin. “He won’t act again without my command. After all, you are my guest.”

“Spare me your hospitality. Tell me of the Fallen, or fall before my sword.” Merlin warned the other.

“Merlin, we had one battle which neither of could win yet you wished to battle once more.” Keb reminded the other. “More to it, I have told you that you are my guest. On the Fallen, I will reveal all that you need to know.”

With a wave of his hand, a steel encased structure was brought in. The steel structure was designed like bird cage but the sides of the cage had the signs of the cross on it. Inside the steel structure was a Man. The figure stood up and then from its back the wings appeared. The wings spread out until it was twice the height of man with its top reaching the top of the structure. The figure was dressed in a white suit that was buttoned to the neckline with the sleeves all covered.

“Merlin, please meet the one of the Fallen. He is no ordinary follower but a leader among them. You may address him as Azrael, the Archangel of Death.”

Mordred 15.2

The New Realm

“I came seeking for answers.” I shouted at them. There was Aladdin standing by himself at the tree trunk still nursing his hand which was partly burned by my fire craft. Leggins was cleaning his sword with the newly plucked leaves with his eyes fixated on the leader of the serpents. They have fought a brief battle as expected of them for they were enemies. 

Rumple was by himself on the large boulder displaying the newly knitted piece to the three witches. Both the enemies have not resumed their fight for Rumpel stood in the middle while I paced between them. We were resting by the edge of the treeline after a long run in the woods.

“Ever since I arrived, all I had was the battling with the others. The Dark Queen, Snow White and the Dwarves, the Witches.” I voiced out my frustration. “In the outside land I was task to do the same. I had dragons and evil wizards to contend with.”

“My King, those are the tasks of the King.” The three witches crowed out their replies.

“Such are the tasks of the Guardians.” Aladdin smiled while he added in to that. “You should not have accepted the task if you were not accustomed to the battles.”

“I knew my role well. I maintain order between us and them but I am here for those unanswered issues. There are rumours of the Master that was causing these issues. I could not find those answers there but I think Merlin will know.”

“Merlin is dead.” Rumpel brought me back to reality. “You said so yourself.”

“Merlin lives!’ The three witches called out in unison. “The Master cannot be killed that easily.”

“I am not so sure. I think Merlin may not be dead. Seth showed us the image of Merlin with the missing thumb. He knew then.” I shared my thoughts with the witches. The whole issue of Merlin dead was becoming unreal when I explored the issue. 

“Seth was mimicking what he heard.” Aladdin replied. “We all heard Merlin died in some incident and only his thumb was found.”

“Then why mock me?” I cried out.  “You knew he had died. But what if he was not?”

“Yes, why mock the King?” The three witches echoed their support for me.

“Its …” Aladdin was cut off by Leggins. The later stepped forth and explained...

“Merlin is dead. We have to accept that.”

“But we did not kill him. None of us ….could do it.” Aladdin looked to me. “Merlin was under our protection once before but not any more. We seek him for our justice.”

It was disbelieving that the Master himself needed protection. Aladdin glared at Leggins but the later looked away. .

“It’s time he knew.” Leggins looked away from Aladdin. “Merlin was under their protection when Keb commanded them some time back. We don’t know why, but it was believed that Merlin and Keb had a battle which neither could win but the tragedy of the battle was Neheb died. In that battle, a new evil was discovered. That evil was creating chaos in the realm.”

“Leggins, if you are going to tell him the truth then out with it the whole truth.” Aladdin voiced out. “This is his legacy too.”

“Yes, speak the truth.” The three witches sounded out. “The myth must be rested or the truth will never be revealed.”

“The place to speak the truth lies not here but in the caves of the Fallen.” Leggins voiced out again.

I have not heard of the caves before. “The place is not far from here but the journey will be dangerous. The Fallen have regrouped their numbers and will be ready for us.”

“How can that be?  No one knew of our coming.” I argued back.

“In the Divide, we used to command but of late, we found ourselves outnumbered and their numbers are ever growing. They are here not to take on us, but the whole realm. Merlin is with them.”

“Who are the Fallen?”

“Follow me and all will be revealed.” Leggins replied before he moved but the three witches declined.

“We cannot follow where the part leads to the cave.” The three witches moaned out. With that they took a leap towards the treelines.

“Haste on our way or we will lose this war.” Leggins called on before he took to run towards the treelines. The Elf did a leap onto the nearby tree trunk and then used it to propel himself up the upper branches. In his jump, the Elf had his sword swinging at the top branches. Just when we thought there was nothing there, a figure was seen soaring up. It was a frame of Man and yet it had wings on its back like the birds. It cried out with a shriek when the sword slashed at its feet. It still managed to reach the top of the tree top before it was brought down with a strong gust of wind. That last bit was my doing when I send the birdman pounding onto the nearby tree branches. The birdman dropped down to the ground level with its left wing bend in a crude manner. The birdman tried to move but Leggins was onto it. The Elf had his sword on the neck of the birdman.

“Move and you die.” Leggins told the fallen creature. It was then I saw the Birdman in detail. It was dressed in camouflage which was how it stayed hidden. Its face was covered in dark grease but it did not hide the facial of Man. The birdman sat up and then pulled at the damaged wing. Once it was righted, the birdman snapped it back onto his back and appeared as part of his body from the shoulders to the thighs. The birdman then looked to the fallen weapon on the ground. It was a Man’s weapon; a long range rifle with a reaching distance of over eight hundred metres.

I kicked away the weapon and then looked at the birdman.  

“Birdman?” I called out. “That is not any I have ever seen.”

“They are the hidden enemies of ours. They were known as the Demi-Gods then but here they were given a name to be called the Fallen. They have come here with us during the rift, and it was here they found more of their own. They have organised to regroup and established their own domain.” Leggins explained.

“My name is Gabriel.” The birdman spoke up. “I am not part of the Fallen. I am an Angel of the Heavenly Realm. We are here to stop the Fallen. Are you Mordred?”

Mordred 15.1

15.

The Previous Realm

Merlin leaned on his staff for support. He had fought Keb and Neheb for a long passing of time but they were at a stalemate in the outcome. They have levelled the surrounding lands with their battle, and yet they were untouched on their bodies.

“Keb, you are powerful to fight me to this standstill.” The other two were on their knees heaving in deep breaths.

“No more powerful than my own.” Keb shook the staff on his hands. “Here lies the real power of Keb.”

The blast from the staff was all powerful. The staff hit the ground and where it struck, the ground broke open. The broken stones split from the ground regrouped to form a serpent made of stones. The stone serpent struck at Merlin but the later had created a shield to protect himself. The serpent of stones struck several times and then it stopped. It raised its head with its neck flatten to the rear while its skin spread out to the sides. It was then Merlin threw aside the shield and projected his mental blast in a narrow streak below the serpent of stone.

“Arghh!” Keb screamed out. He glared at Merlin. “You have cut into my soul with that.”

“Your soul now and then your body. Together I will end your life.” Merlin taunted him. It was then Neheb rushed into action. The younger son lashed out the venoms from its mouth at Merlin.  The venom spat out became small serpents that flew across towards Merlin. Those were not ordinary serpents but made from crafts. They will passed through anything solid be it magical or man-made. Merlin stepped back with his staff swinging at the attacking serpents. He was getting annoyed at the attacks and then called on the powerful mental blocks of his to break the magical barriers on the serpents before he used his staff to kill them. Each blow was loud and piercing into the souls of the battle hardened warriors then. Then there was silence.

“Enough of these senseless battles. If we are to continue, then let us fight in the Void.” Keb called out the spell which moved them into the hidden dimension. The battle was no longer in the physical realm but in an unknown dimension. The masters have chosen the unknown dimensions to battle it out. The dimension was neither of land nor sea, nor of skies and stars, nor of creatures and man, nor of reality and fantasy but of the vast void without a boundary nor of finite edge.

“Keb, you are an idiot.” Merlin called out. He stood on neither any flooring, he was in mid-air and yet there was nothing. “This is the Dark Realm. Even our ancestors do not tread here unless they …”

“I came here for a reason, Merlin. An attempt to tell you the truth of the true events that surrounds us from the beginning of our realm of Man.” Keb spoke out. “Here me out and then you may do as wished. We will not battle but confer on the real enemy.”

“No, Father. He is the enemy.” Neheb voiced out in anger. “He who slew many of ours deserved not to know what we do.”

“He must know.” Keb replied. “The truth will undo our war. If I had not stumbled on it, it will be the end of all of us and only the fallen ones will triumph.”

“No!” Neheb struck at his own father. The blow caused the father onto his side.  He then stepped away from the fallen figure. “The master is right. It will be time of reckoning soon when the non-believers will reveal themselves.”

“May the stars forgive me.” Keb cried out. “Have I released the evil among us? All I wanted to know who were they and how to stop them.”

“Yes, Father. You did find them but among them I found myself. I am now one with them.” Neheb told his father. “You have not failed them. You have only added strength to their desire to defeat all of you. Never will they be considered as the Fallen.”

“And never will I be considered as a failing Father.” Keb aimed his staff at Neheb. The coiled serpents on the staff moved away from it and formed into two serpents spirits. One was the dark spirit of venom and the other was of clear shades of speed. Both the spirits attacked the scaled figure of Neheb who tried to protect itself. The dark spirit punched itself through the chest of Neheb and pierced through the back. It released its strength of venom into the body and soul of the later while the clear spirit form with its speed coiled itself around the Neheb to constrict itself on the body.

“No!” Merlin shouted out but Neheb was dying in the grip of the spirit form. Just before its dying breaths, another form took on the spirits. It struck without warning and freed Neheb. Keb was thrown back by the back lash of his own power and was sent crashing backwards in the Void.

“You have failed, Neheb.” The unseen opponent called out. “For that, you are no longer a part of us.” 

Within seconds of the trailing voice, Neheb then fell on his face. His life force was gone from him. Keb who has just lost a son called out in pain. He struck out with the staff but there was none to hit on. With his power drained, Keb fell back on his back and moan the loss of his child.

“Who was that? Merlin asked. “You never use that spell before.”

“In the world of survival, only the strong can survived. The bringer of the life form holds the right to end the weaker ones. I did it for the same rule. My child is weak and thus need to be punished.” Keb replied. “I am by nature a creature of survival. Only the fittest deserve to live.”

“And for that you killed your son?” Merlin asked.

“No, the killing was not me. It was them who are our enemies.” Keb spoke out. “I was trying to tell you that. I brought us here so that they cannot hear us but I was wrong. Our enemies are everywhere.”

“Who are they?” Merlin asked.

“The Fallen Ones.” Keb whispered out. 

Mordred 14.2

The New Realm

The Elves were there. They were the guardian of the Divide at the edge of New Salem. They stood there with their slender and agile in their frame with their half the height of Man, and their body frame held great strength in those limbs with the feared oversized paddle they carry. There were ten of them there with their fingers fidgeting on the paddle handles. One of them stepped forth and called to us.

“I am Leggins.” The one who spoke stood out among the others with his head larger than the other. “I know you, Guardian. You were once with us. You brought us Berlin and then there was none. We heard that you soon left but we desire not the leaving but what happened to the offerings.”

I looked at the one who spoke. He was there that day when I brought in Berlin. He was younger then but he held command.

“I am the Guardian, Mordred. I was the one who brought you Berlin and now I seek of him.” I stated my task. “He whom I sent here may hold some answers to me.”

“Berlin is no more with us.” Leggins replied. I shook my head at the Elf.

“You lied.” I snapped at the Elf. “He was well when I send him here.”

“He was but he did not last long here. Life in the Divide can be hard.” Leggins replied. “More so when you are in league with the serpents. We can tell by your looks and your sudden appearance.”

I looked down at my boots and smiled. I was sure that it was fake animal hide was used on it. Our rapid growth must have triggered their attention. Or was it the scent. I did not have a bath since I arrived in New Salem.

“You get a lot of these?” I diverted the subject but Leggins was not impressed.

“You won’t be laughing when I am through with you.” Leggins signalled the other Elves to space out into a semicircle. It happened so fast that even the Elves were caught off guard.  The three witches had returned in strength. They did not come alone but with reinforcements. The serpents slithered out from between the undergrowth and struck at the elves. Their fangs sunk in deep into the exposed flesh while their body coiled around the limbs. The elves fought back with their paddles but they were out number.

Leggins was the only one who saw the serpents before it hit them, but he was too late to warn the others. He stepped back from the striking serpents using the paddle like a club to break the attack. He swiped hard at the nearest serpent which had its fangs out. The long double fangs protruded from the upper jaw of the serpent were caught by the paddle swing. The weapon broke the fangs on contact and reshaped the serpent head but it was not dead. The head at the rear of the serpent struck at Leggins.

“I’ll be darned!” Leggins moved his body to avoid the striking head. There were tales of the double headed serpent but that was his first encounter. He swung the paddle at the serpent head. During the swing, he pressure pressed the hidden switch that brought out the double blades on the edge of the paddle. The blades sliced the serpent neck just below the jaws. It was the secret of the Elves on their paddles. He saw the witches hovered into the battle as if they were walking on air. The witch known as Betsy bent her body horizontally with her arms spread out. She then turned on her momentum in a spiral twist and from her fingers nails grew out into narrow blades. She clasped her hands together to form a straight blade when she clashed into the Elves. Her spiral attack deflected the paddle and then sliced into the Elf’ face on the left side before she cut across it to the right. It was a vicious kill but that was the handiworks of the Elves.

The Elf continued on the retreat but he was soon to find his passage blocked. He had his back to the tree trunk. He looked up and saw the descending serpent but there were more in front of him. All of his other warriors were dead; they have never been attacked by so many in one battle. It was always a single attack or a pit of five but never this many like then.

It was then the other witch named Betty charged at Leggins. She deployed the same move that her sister did but Leggins was ready for her. He raised the paddle of his and braced his legs for battle. He saw the witch approaching and reached down to the end of the paddle handle. There he pressed another hidden switch. The flat end of the paddle split apart to reveal the dark wide sharpened blade. The blade was serrated in one edge and smooth on the other, but in the blade a series of round nine different size orbs lined it. It was fabled that the orbs resembled the nine worlds of the star system.

“The Elwedgwen, the Sword of Orbs. It once belonged to King Tauriel.” I knew that sword. I had read of it from the old books before the dawn of Man. The world was ruled then by the other kinds; Orcs, Goblins, Dwarves, Fairies and the least trusted Man named then as the Earthlings. The Elf King held the sword as it was forged by himself in the fires of the mountain. It rivalled that of the fabled Dragonair which was the Sword of Kings handed down by generations of King.

“Yes, it’s Elwe for those unfortunate to meet it.” Leggins swung the long wide sword at the attacking witch. At that moment when the other two witches saw the sword, they swung into action and grabbed their witch. The trio collapsed on the ground. Leggins took to grab his chance to escape into the treelines but they were blocked by the leader of the serpents. More serpents came to the aid of their leader.

“Elf, you done much damage to my followers.” Aladdin greeted the Elf. “You came to claim on them and now I will do the same for you.”

Without any warning, Leggins felt the blow that hit him yet he could not see it. He tried to defend himself but the blows came regardless. He was hit in so many places and where his sword struck, there was none to hit. He felt the beastly blow on the back of his head and landed a distance away. Leggins was hurt and could hardly move then. He lay back on his back and sighed.  

“May the sun give me light and the darkness for the restful sleep.” Leggins chanted the last rites of his kind with his closed eyes while he readies himself for death. It never came. Instead he felt the searing flame. The heat was intense and the then he heard the serpents hissed out in pain. He also heard the heard the cry of unseen opponent. He opened his eyes and saw Aladdin lying on the ground holding his right hand. The smell of the burning flesh permeates the air then. The three witches stood before him and there was myself with Rumpel.

“Elf, it’s time we move.” I called out.   

Tweet...tweet....23/07..... A review of sorts

Time to logged in.....

Mordred is going strong form what I can see from the readers. Someone asked me, what is it my take on Merlin? The character have appeared in some of my tales both as villain and hero. I guess when I was past the age of wet diapers to the stained underpants, the early tales available to me then was King Arthur and the Twelve Knights. Merlin did not get written much in it but the character stayed in my mind, besides Arthur and Lancelot.

Later when I moved onto avoiding staining my clothes; I guess the introduction of tissues assisted the migration ( it depends on what you may be thinking on be it lateral or vertical, I will not elaborate on the stains.) I read some books on Merlin. One was by Mary Stewart chronicles ( still have it with me. ). And then came the wonderful world of WWW which open my mind to more versions of Merlin. ( Tissues not included here ).

Merlin's background was always a mystery. There were claims that he was the son of a King, but his exploits are more of his time with Arthur. I did watched Young Merlin (gave up on the series after one season; like watching some bespectacled kid trying to outdo the you know who. ) but I liked the later series of Merlin ( without the beard and looking after his young pup Arthur then ) but that series ended after one season.

So who is the real Merlin? In Mordred, I gave him a new lifeline or was it a new origin like how the man with the cape got written over his birth certificate details. I hoped you will like this new one. Maybe I may do another tale of Merlin ( plots are evolving before me now... ) but let me complete the one I am writing now; Deep Seas War.

Another excerpt to keep the waves rolling.

The sailor pressed the pedal while he steered the craft away. He needed to get away from it to surprise them. The craft moved on his command with narrow body cutting at the sea currents. It was slow but they did the distance of over a hundred and fifty feet. Tu sighted the second craft. Initially he thought he was out flanked but then the other craft lacked certain tattoos. There was no time for diversion. He pulled the harpoon lever and heard the cranked noise of the pressured air that whooshed in the pipes to fire the harpoon. It was fire at a hundred feet and without compensating for the currents. It might miss.

Eddy on the Colleen saw the bubbles of the sea water and then the harpoon head. He pulled at the steering wheel to rise up. It was a right move given that the harpoon was aimed his aft. With the speed of the harpoon if he steered to the portside or starboard, he was bound to be speared on it. It was a calculated chance the harpoon might miss on the narrow target. The harpoon losing its momentum but when the sea current hit form the stern it picked up speed. The harpoon struck the rear end of the submerged and pierced into the engine. The sea water punched in through the gash on the hull. It then exploded when the explosive attached to the harpoon went off.

Peaking at 64,000 words, the battles are getting more intense.....

Till Neptune discover the water flushing seat, let us enjoy our swim in the sea.

Mordred 14.1

14.

The Previous Realm

Merlin holding his personal staff scoffed at the three that lined up before him. The one in the middle was their leader, Keb the King of Serpent. He was the leader of the Serpents and had been hunted by Merlin ever since. Next to him was his other son named Neheb; a figure of serpent with the frame of Man. The other was a younger person by the name of Seth.

“Do not think that your names will intimidate me.” Merlin challenged them. They were at the clearing in the dark forest, surrounded by the dark looming trees and the creeping undergrowth that covered the roots for the salvation of the sunlight. There was little to see beyond those growths for their thickness was dense and even the insects need to detour on their path. “Those were noble names of the myth but you are not any myth. All of you are of blood and flesh.”

“Absolutely wrong.” Keb smiled at Merlin. The former took pride in his flesh with the defined muscular sculpture uncovered by the loose drab of cloth across the chest and the body hugging pants to the shin high thick leather boots. He held a long staff with the carvings of a pair of serpents entwined on its length.

“I am Keb in the flesh and blood. I am his resurrected form from the generations of rest.” Keb gave out a loud laughter. 

“Only Keb would be accompanied by his child; Neheb who bows to no Man or God except to me.”

“Merlin, your insistence to quash my kind had borne me sadness. I see my followers succumb to your deadly blows although some were treacherous in deliverance.” Keb voiced out. “I am forced to confront you for the redemption of those you had demised their soul.”

“It’s befitting that the King shall clash with me for your numbers that perished on my blows were too many for me to recount in the memories. I hailed thee for your influence had garner much in the numbers and devotion, but the vile ways of the Serpent cannot be sanction by the Council. It’s my obligation to remove that influence and what better mode than to remove its main head.”

“Merlin, your dedication to your task is admirable, but when I voiced out the need to confront, I was not implying us in battle. I was referring to another which is pulling us to battle while they prosper in the result.” Keb explained himself. “I need …”

“Diversions? More of your own to influence me perhaps?” Merlin counteract on the other words. “Your twisted words meant nothing to me. There is no other force which I find more repulsive than yours.”

“Repulsion? Merlin, I am sad that you viewed us as such.” Keb replied. “The serpent have been linked to many evil deeds since the dawn of Man. The serpent was said to led Eve and Adam to the apple, and yet there were prove that it was the other who had influenced the serpent. The serpent was one of the few creatures to live on both water and land yet it had no limbs to move on but made to move on its belly.”

“Stop your tales. I will not believe you.” Merlin hit back but Keb was adamant of stating his views.

“The serpents have been the focus when evil present but is the evil the making of the serpent or others. Even you disbelieve me, when you were supposed to be the fair one.” Keb hit out with his staff on the ground. The serpents appeared all around the clearing and on the trees. There were many and yet they did not strike at all.    

“We are many here and fewer outside with your relentless hunts.” Keb continued on. “Their hatred for you will be quenched when your bones are left without the marrows inside.”

“But I command them to stay their action for I am to tell you that we are not your enemy anymore.”