The Knight
Page 25
“Oberon, I seal thee and all thy kind inside Arcadia for eternity,” Mab said, “never to trouble the worlds of man or fae again, not until you can convince me that you have renounced your ways of villainy and discord. One age of man must pass before I consider your plea again. Your magic is undone, and I declare your staff broken!” Mab said, and clenched her fist. Sparks flew from it, and the magic mirror in the skies began to fade with the wailing cry of Oberon as his magical guile deserted him.
Below the castle walls, the forces of Mordred, the humans that remained, suddenly found themselves outnumbered where mere moments ago they were on the cusp of utter victory. Their morale failed them and the mercenaries of the long ships and the northern clans began to flee the retribution of Camelot, Avalon and Eon combined. Many were captured, yet many more fled back to their homelands. In later days, with Mordred captured and in chains, Arthur would recognize the claim of autonomy from the Celts and the Picts, though they were bound over to make no more mischief and never to take up arms against Camelot for so long as the line of kings lived.
“It is done, then?” Naida said simply, and it was the sweetest sound that Rhys had ever heard, those few words. Finally, he and Naida were together, with no threat of death hanging over them like the executioner’s axe.
“Not yet,” said Queen Mab, and her voice was weary. “The doors of Arcadia will be bound with chains made from the wheat of the Elysian Fields, and no more will their kind trouble the hearts of men. The Lifetree will return with me to bring new life to Eon, and our people will prosper.”
“So, all is well?” asked Rhys. He did not see where Mab was driving to with her words.
“Almost, Nestaron. I have some final duties to enact. My first is to give thanks to thee, who restored the Eternal Branch to us after so many before you had failed.” She bowed to him, and Rhys blushed at the courtesy shown to him by this royal immortal. “Secondly, to Naida I must say, you valiantly fought at the side of this man, and brought him to his fate with courage and honor. But now you must choose; return with your people, and receive your wings as a member of the Seelie Court, and all the other high honors you shall receive, or remain here in this realm and accept the gift of mortality.”
“No!” cried Rhys, knowing that acceptance of life on Earth was on Naida’s lips. “My love, I cherish you more than any victory, and if death had taken me this day, I would have taken his hand gladly, knowing that I had held you in my arms even one time. But do not give up your long life for the brief toil of this one, I beg you!”
Naida simply smiled at him, violet eyes meeting green again, and pulled him to her for a kiss.
“Rhys, my heart’s desire, after the worlds you have seen, and all that you have done, do you remain in the belief that death is the end?” She playfully kissed him again, and turned to her queen, kneeling before her.
“My queen, I accept your boon. I will remain on Earth, and become mortal, if it pleases you,” she said, and Mab was struck by how much this young faery had grown in spirit and conviction. The dreamy girl who would rather pick mushrooms and herbs than conduct important duties was gone; in her place a woman, soon to be a great mother of lords and ladies, a line that would continue in happy times for many years. That was what she foresaw for Naida Brannon Vuin, and what she saw was pleasing to her.
“Granted, and happily, Naida,” she smiled, and then, as quickly as she had arrived, Queen Mab and the Lifetree to which she held were gone.
Epilogue
Rhys and Naida were betrothed that same day in the High Hall of Camelot.
King Arthur placed the cloth around their shoulders and tied the string about their clasped hands himself. There was understandable rejoicing, none more so than at the reunion of Rhys with Eramus. The Nestaron greeted his former tutor with amazement, not only with the appearance of his friend at the Battle of Camlann at all—for that is what the defeat of Mordred came to be known as—but by the cheers and chants of “Erasmus! Erasmus the Valiant!” that accompanied his entry. Erasmus explained that there had been the minor event of his having to battle Ragnar Lodbrok, chief of the Vikings, and he was regretfully forced to slay him when Ragnar would not yield. The humbleness in his retelling was met with mirth from his fellow soldiers, and gratitude from none other than King Arthur himself, who had not forgotten that it had been Erasmus who stepped forward to meet Mordred in combat, knowing it meant certain death.
Erasmus became Sir Erasmus of Avalon that day. Of King Arthur, there are many other stories that detail his deeds and nobility after the great battle against his son, Mordred. Arthur could not bring himself to slay his misbegotten son, and put him in chains in the dungeons of Camelot. Mordred, for his part, refused to swear fealty, and instead spat on his father’s hand of forgiveness. Later he would escape, and return to make mischief; though never again so great as when he had the power of Arcadia at his side.
Thomas of Manchester, Gawain of Sheffield and John of Leeds were also joyously reunited with their fellow Son of the Round Table, and they near fell over each other, trying to recount their tales since they had been parted at Kendal. Rhys, for his part, remained quiet. He could not find the words to put his tale across well until many years later, by which time the events that transpired after he saw the beautiful nymph at the Everlasting Pool seemed almost the stuff of myths themselves.
His sisters Glynnis, Aelwyd and Cadwynn would go forth from that day to rule Avalon as the Thirteenth Glastenning, and to have it heard tell aright, they were, if anything, ever more loved than even Morgan le Fae had been, though they would not hear of it themselves. The family was finally brought together when Merlin began to bring Rhys’ parents and relatives through his back doors between worlds, one by one. Anlawd came first, his genial grandfather, followed by Gwallawc. Rhys greeted his father on one knee, but his father raised him up.
“Nay, son. I kneel to you this day,” he said, and there were tears of joy at the repaired bond between them. Irelli and Mucuruna, his grandmother and mother, also came through on the arm of Merlin; and Rhys smiled greatly to see the not quite matronly eye Irelli favored Merlin with. And so, the Tywysog line was brought into completeness; and Rhys found himself happy to be among them, not raised up as a savior of worlds, or a knight of the realm, but simply a son and grandson once more.
Naida met her new family nervously, though they showered her with love and encouraged her to come live at the House at Red Ditch as soon as she may. As a mortal, her eyes would slowly change color from purple to deepest blue, but she retained all of her faery beauty; save for the points of her ears, which became as rounded and fair as any maiden’s the moment she renounced her immortality to Queen Mab. She had no wedding dress, but this did not seem to matter, neither to her new family nor her new husband.
The same evening as the Battle of Camlann, there was first a great and splendid feast. The great hall in Camelot was swelled to bursting, and every lesser hall was turned over to make room to feed the soldiers of Camelot and Avalon. After the feast was done, and the minstrels had played their fill, the Knights of the Round Table formed a guard of honor for Rhys and Naida as they passed down the hall toward the dais where King Arthur and Merlin sat. The great fraternity of noble knights was in good cheer with their four new members, and hailed and thrice hailed them when Merlin pronounced them man and wife.
Tears flowed, and laughter, and great joy was had. Great adventures for the Dragon Prince and the Knights of the Round Table would yet be lived, and it was said that not a minstrel in the land did not know at least one of the songs of the faery and the Nestaron for many centuries that followed.
Across the seas of reality, the realm of Eon spanned on in its happy way, quarrelsome and chaotic though the Seelie Court could sometimes be. The Lifetree grew strong again, and no longer were the faefolk dependent on the attention of humans for their vigor; although it has been rumored that sometimes when men and women walk alone in the woods, they can hear the muses whispering stories to them.
The stories of Queen Mab and her doomed love Oberon, the stories of brave Minerva, and Rinnah the Mad. And yes, even this one: the story of the faery who loved a human, and gave up her long life to be his bride, and the Dragon Prince who restored two worlds to peace. And that, my friends, is as far as the muses have ever whispered to me. Perchance there will be a time when they may tell further tales to you, instead.
The End
To be continued in:
The Quest
Table of Contents
Book One: Men of Earth
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Book Two: Fae of Eon
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Book Three: Creatures of Acadia
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen