"Kaan was turned to stone, right in front of our eyes! It was dark magic I tell you, I was lucky to escape with my life."
"The beasts," she asked, "did they attack Kaan?" She sounded worried and was getting impatient with his unhelpful answers.
"No," his voice was raised, "I just told you, he was turned into solid stone."
The Crocodile Queen shot a worried glance towards the servant girl who had stopped attending to her duties, "Thank you," she said calmly, "it must have been traumatic for you, you must rest now, leave this with me, you're safe here and you must re-gain your strength. I will need some time to formulate a plan, but let me assure you," she said reaching out to touch his trembling hand, "we will need to avenge this callous act, and find the perpetrators. That might take us some time, but this will not go unpunished. One last question before you go and get some rest, think carefully about this, your answer will be important. Was there anything unusual at the monastery before the beasts attacked?"
"Yes, a man came. He arrived at the front gate, exhausted, and cold, the gossip suggested he was a monk, but no one knew where he was from. He carried with him a hymn book, and we were singing some of the new songs from that book just before the beasts attacked."
She moved closer to the monk, lowering her voice she inquired, "What happened to this monk?"
"He died. We cremated him and scattered his ashes from the stone outcrop, the point of the four winds."
She nodded her understanding, "Guards," she called out, "help our guest find some food and a warm bed for the night, he can stay as long as he needs, as my guest."
The monk nodded, his heart had calmed from a wild beating rhythm, and his shortness of breath was returning to normal, he was courteously led away.
As the door was closed behind him, the servant still positioned at the back of the hall swirled frantically changing back into Atheria's natural form. The cloud like entity floated towards the Crocodile Queen.
"We have to go there now," said Atheria, stating the obvious, "We have to secure the Reposte Scroll before they figure out a way to get it.”
"And save Kaan," added the Crocodile Queen, slightly annoyed at Atheria’s cold process of prioritization and lack of empathy.
"Of course," said Atheria, embarrassed at her obvious omission.
The raid on the monastery was clearly designed to inflict damage on a sacred location reserved for cultivating the highest talent and skills, a place where individuals would be schooled to leverage their gifts in the eternal fight against evil and the dark forces. Elora had succeeded in her complex mission; she’d delivered on her promise of immobilizing Kaan permanently, and wiping out a whole tranche of aspiring fighters.
Faced with the snarling beasts, Kaan could have simply fled to another realm, just as the young monk had done. Using the hidden stone spider had caught Kaan off guard; this twist in the plan had served its purpose well. Elora now had access to Kaan's trapped spirit, entombed deep within his stone shell, she would torture him at will through his own thoughts and dark dreams until her sick pleasures had been satiated.
Wiping out the rising stars of the monastery, together with eliminating the teachings of the old masters, was simply icing on the cake for Elora, for she just wanted Kaan. He was instrumental in the killing of the two witches and Elora’s sister; she’d sworn to avenge them all.
Elora was evil and cunning, she knew this action would be enough to draw out the Crocodile Queen, and this would offer her the chance she needed. There’s an old saying that warns against plans made in haste, when emotions are running high. Elora was so consumed with rage and revenge that she failed to recognize a great opportunity that lay before her, a prize so big, it could have influenced the eternal war between good and evil forever, the Reposte Scroll. The sacred scroll containing wisdom and insights from countless sages across the universe of realms and spiritual worlds, knowledge that would have been devastating, powerful, and dangerous, if the forces of evil weren’t so blinded by revenge. It was there for the taking, loosely secured in a private room, deep within the breached stronghold of the Monastery of Light. Atheria retrieved the scroll easily, vowing never to reveal its new location to the Crocodile Queen. Atheria knew this knowledge would be dangerous and she wanted to protect the Crocodile Queen from knowing. She knew the Crocodile Queen’s continued fight with evil forces was far from over, and there was still a possibility that she could be captured or worse.
Atheria had seen many things in her unusually long life, she examined the hymn book, abandoned on the monastery floor in great detail, she recognized the spells contained within. She spotted the small leather pouch where the stone spider had crawled out, free from its slumber. She swirled around the stone figure of Kaan, frozen in time for all eternity. Her swirling mass seemed to engulf him, examining every exposed inch until she found the two small puncture marks still visible upon his statue confirming her spider theory.
The Crocodile Queen grew impatient trying to control the seething rage that built within her. The remains of the gored, stricken monks bodies still lay strewn about the stone room, as the Crocodile Queen fought back the urge to vomit from the carnage the beasts had left behind. There was an eerie quiet throughout the expansive stone building, only the faint sound of the cold wind creeping inside through gaps and cracks could be heard.
The Crocodile Queen’s blood boiled with the desire to seek revenge, she wanted to leave her home immediately, but she knew that contradicted all her teachings. She tried to master her raging feelings; she tried to find balance within her immediate priorities. She was immensely curious; she needed to understand how Elora had managed to inflict so much damage in a place this remote, and so well hidden, as the Monastery of Light. Above all, putting her selfish feelings aside, she had to find a way to help Kaan. She'd almost forgotten about the guilt that had earlier consumed her every waking moment, as her thoughts moved back to the two inexperienced, yet vastly gifted kids, still exposed in the Fifth Realm. Dan and Ally needed her protection; that was her mission before all of this started. She needed to focus on doing what was right, what was important, before she could think of revenge for Kaan.
Controlling her feelings was difficult; she looked around at the lifeless, blood-soaked faces, strewn across the room carelessly. Hours before, these fine men had sung together and celebrated life. She knew almost all these monks, some had taken the time to train her, they’d helped her, and a couple were so close to her that she regarded them as a father figure for an abandoned little girl unceremoniously dumped at these monastery gates. Guilt set in remembering how she’d entered the monastery, rising to become one of their best students. She wondered if her method of arrival had influenced the monk's decision to let a total stranger into the Monastery of Light? She tortured herself as her anxiety started to swell up uncontrollably within her chest like a coiled cobra rising from the ground.
Struggling to regain her composure, she started to pace the room staring at the blood-soaked walls and stone floor. Atheria swirled frantically around the room quickly surveying the bodies, various objects, and inspecting the carnage for clues. She suddenly stopped, her gyrating cloud blocking the Crocodile Queen's impatient path.
"I know what happened here, I’ll tell you everything, but it's likely a story you don't want to hear."
"Tell me," the Crocodile Queen snapped with such a determined streak coursing through her voice that Atheria was shocked.
Atheria explained in detail the complex set of actions, timing, and spells, that Elora had used. She described the ancient spell, called a Bindhold, that drove an innocent monk to unwittingly seek sanctuary in the remote, desolate, Monastery of Light. Wrapped in fur to keep him alive, he unwittingly delivered two beasts from the underworld, right into the heart of the monastery. “The cargo he carried within his belongings were more clandestine, for the hymn book contained the spell to unleash the beasts, resurrecting them to their full dangerous form. Elora had planned for Kaan’s intellect,
a monk who’d caused her an unparalleled amount of damage to her intricate plans. She wanted him gone, removed, but she knew of his great powers, brute force would not work. Kaan had the ability, if threatened, to simply transport to another realm. Her plan involved subtlety and cunning, the only way to catch such an elusive adversary. The book had contained a stone spider, from the Second Realm; his venom was so strong it would suspend the hapless monk, perhaps forever. The stone spider had been captivated, caught within Elora's powerful spell. It lay dormant within the book until Kaan touched the binding releasing the venomous spider. Elora knew the spider would feel threatened and was ordered to bite, true to her plan, he bit Kaan suspending him forever.”
“And the beasts?” inquired the Crocodile Queen.
“Long gone, out into the mountains, who knows how long they will survive in that cold?”
"Suspended forever," repeated the Crocodile Queen, realizing she would never see her friend again. Kaan was the protective brother she'd never had, he meant so much to her, and she never imagined he would be vanquished in such a cowardly way. She could feel her rage swelling up inside her again.
"Well, perhaps not forever," said Atheria, letting her words drift in the stale air and offering the faintest ray of hope the Crocodile Queen so desperately needed. It should have made her feel better, but she was cold, dead inside, with a numbness that made her unable to feel anything. The cold air bled into the stone room reminding her of countless nights she’d spent within the monastery, and how remote and bitterly cold this place had always been. The thick stone walls were closing in on her, suffocating her with the stench of death lingering in her nostrils.
"Say more," demanded the Crocodile Queen, desperate to hear how she could save her friend.
"I’ll tell you, but not here, it's not safe here anymore, let's go back to Crescent Island and I’ll tell you all you need to know."
The Crocodile Queen reluctantly nodded, turning Kaan to stone would predictably result in her immediate visit to this location, and it’s a plausible ploy to draw her out from her haven. This could have been orchestrated as part of Elora's elaborate plan, it was extremely dangerous, but she had to come. "Let's go," she stated reluctantly. They returned to Crescent Island taking the Reposte Scroll with them, but not before burning the hymn book.
* * * * *
For now, the castle on Crescent Island was safe from Elora's reach, the spirit entity Atheria, began to explain Elora's cunning plan to the Crocodile Queen in more detail. The Crocodile Queen sipped from a cup of ginger tea while trying to contain her anger and impatiently waiting to hear about Kaan’s fate, was he truly gone? She'd taken inexcusable risks, but the liberation of this realm, the releasing of Jean, and her involvement in the killing of the three witches, had sparked Elora's insatiable anger like never before. The involvement of Jean, Kaan, Raj, and Dan, had implicated them all, Raj was gone, Jean was safely stowed away within another realm, and another time, Kaan had been found, so surely it was only a matter of time before Elora went after Dan and Ally. Elora knew that would draw her out even more, suffering from guilt and an urge to protect those kids, would lead to her taking more risks. Their vulnerability would ultimately lead Elora right to her, and that was what she was counting on. What choice did she have? Elora considered doing-the-right-thing as a sign of weakness, a frailty worth exploiting. The Crocodile Queen considered it a strength, a core difference between good and evil.
Finally, Atheria elaborated upon her earlier statement regarding the fate of Kaan, Atheria swirled in frenzy, "Tell me my child, are you familiar with Myrddin Wyllt?"
"Yes," she said quickly, not feeling the need to explain herself.
Atheria continued, "We've all heard the stories and legends that surround this man, unfortunately most of these are just fiction. What do you know of Myrddin?”
She thought carefully, "He was an extraordinarily gifted man, tortured constantly by the evil forces that reduced him to a shell of his former self, banishing him to the status of a mad man living in the woods like a hermit trying to escape Elora's cruel grasp. I know of this poor soul, why do you ask?"
Her swirling cloud slowed, "In the year AD 573, on Earth, the Fifth Realm, Myrddin fled to the woods as you suggested. I was there to assist with his escape, he'd been a loyal servant to our fight, and was blessed with extraordinarily powerful gifts; he was a prophet, a sorcerer; he was a magician and an alchemist; he possessed the ability to travel between realms at will. Much has been written into folklore and legend about the enormous power held within his ring, many have searched the realms claiming to have found his ring, but that remains part of the mystique surrounding this man. I speak the truth, the legend of his ring was a story manufactured as a cunning distraction, for the real source of this man’s power was an amulet, suspended from his neck by a chain of gold, that hung hidden beneath his robes. It's a very special amulet and remains to this day - one of a kind. Rose, I know this to be true, because I was the one who had it made for him. The center of the amulet contains a very rare Kaledral stone; a precious gem from the second realm. It looks like a red crystal, capable of catching, storing, and transmitting energy. It was Myrddin's source of power. The stone was clasped into place by two dark crescent shapes; they resembled sculptured stone, like onyx. They were a deep black color, as hard as Welsh slate. I remember the day the last remaining adult dragon was eventually slaughtered in the Welsh countryside. She resisted flapping her massive scaled wings to evade the approaching soldiers; she remained grounded in a valiant attempt to protect her wounded child, a small female dragon of about six months in age. Although fearful, the soldiers would eventually kill the protective mother, and the smaller juvenile dragon endured a similar fate. Myrddin and I would arrive too late to save either of them. The dark crescents that surround the amulet are not stone, they’re powerful mystical talons taken from the fallen smaller dragon."
"Fools," snapped the impatient Crocodile Queen.
"The oldest, wisest, and most mystical creature that ever lived within the Fifth Realm had now been hunted into extinction, by hordes of scared foolish men. An act that was perpetrated across every country and every continent within the Fifth Realm. Evil forces had influenced the men of this world, turning them into frightened, scared, irrational beasts, that would attack a dragon without provocation or cause. Myrddin’s necklace, containing the Kaledral amulet, is a powerfully precious artifact, the blood red stone has stored within it, countless memories, spells, and ancient rituals, while the dragon’s talons allow the wearer protection from evil spirits.
If you want to see Kaan again, it’s simple, you must find Myrrdin’s amulet. A white witch will need to wear the necklace and access the power of the Kaledral stone, touching Kaan’s petrified statue will break Elora’s wicked Bindhold spell. The amulet is extremely powerful, if it’s worn by the wrong person, a person with inadequate powers, well; it will drive the wearer mad."
"Is that what happened to Myrddin?" inquired the Crocodile Queen, encouraged there was a remedy for Kaan’s predicament.
"No, not at all, that was all about Elora. The Amulet was designed to protect Myrddin, but Elora managed to get to him one night, I suspect he removed the necklace." Atheria swirled violently recalling the incident, it still made her angry and remorseful.
"Where can I find this Amulet?" inquired the Crocodile Queen, no answer was provided from the swirling mass of energy that undulated in front of her, "do you know where it is?"
Atheria seemed to avoid the questions, as she thought carefully about her response, "Myrddin and I created the story that his ring was the all-powerful artifact. Books, movies, and songs, all describe and talk about his ring, I want you to ignore all of that, as I said, it was simply a way to divert attention away from his necklace. I’ve followed his precious artifact through hundreds of years, as it passed through people’s hands with limited knowledge of its true power. I’ve seen it stolen, sold, battered, buried, and found, unfortunately today, it rema
ins lost."
Atheria could sense the despondency rising deep within the Crocodile Queen's heart, "Have faith my child, in recent times, there have been two people obsessed with Myrddin, they were both scholars studying everything about the man, both were insanely driven to prove his amulet existed and equally driven to find it. They were independent and never knew each other or shared their research. They could not have been more different, and they lived far apart, both believed in the existence of the necklace, both have collected clues through their own research to its current location; you’ll need to find these individuals and extract any knowledge you can from them to locate the amulet. Rose, that’s your only chance of releasing Kaan. I’ll tell you the names, dates, and locations of these individuals, I’ve tracked their progress to see if they would eventually find the amulet. I can't help you any more than this, but if you find the necklace, to release Kaan, you must give the necklace to Ally, then you’ll have a chance.”
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