Heirs of Avalon: The passage

by Béatrice Mary

  She seemed to be thinking hard.

  “What’s not possible?” I demanded.

  Instead of replying, she looked at each of us, a perplexed expression on her face, then at the horizon again before exclaiming, “Hurry! We have to get to the lake. Call Galahad and tell him to join us there with all the knights. We may be expected…”

  Viviane invoked the presence of the priestesses of Avalon, who joined us minutes later, along with the group of chevaliers leading Lightning and Stella, Melora’s mare. We started down the path clustered together, not knowing what would happen once we’d reached the lake. The fairies followed us, gliding soundlessly above the surface of the path, as I’d seen Viviane do already.

  Along the way, my curiosity got the better of me.

  “Why are you so excited?” I asked my grandmother. “What’s happening at the lake?”

  “I’m not sure,” she said, evading my question.

  “Stop speaking in riddles!” I said, exasperated.

  She hesitated, then finally said, “Do you remember Myrddin’s enigma?”

  I cited it mechanically: “When you find the words, you will have the key and the door will open.”

  I still didn’t understand it, nor did I know why Viviane was bringing it up. Her smile, her eyes sparkling with hope puzzled me, and I began to think over the enigmatic words once again.

  As soon as we reached the immense lake, now covered with whitecaps blown into spume by the windstorm, Viviane asked me to repeat the spell to open the passage. I looked at Melora posted at my side and waited for her to nod in agreement.

  Feeling excited, I obeyed: “Avalon dangos eich hun!”

  The wind immediately dropped, the surface of the lake became smooth and the dark clouds dispersed like vapor from a teakettle, revealing the last rays of the setting sun glittering on the water just below the castle.

  “Drws agor eich hun!”

  Something fantastic, magical, ineffable, happened right before our eyes. I’d seen it many times in my dreams, but that was nothing compared to the actual sight of the crystal palace emerging from the foam, shining with a thousand lights under the white moon.

  The breathtaking spectacle affected all of us. I took Melora’s hand as she stared in wonder at the palace, and then I saw something that had always seemed impossible to me: Viviane was crying.

  I looked at her, silently begging her to give me an explanation. For the first time, I saw her smile frankly, a smile that spread all the way to her icy-blue eyes, now bubbling with joy, filled with a cloud of tiny stars. She seemed young again.

  “It was love – the key was love.”

  “What?” I exclaimed.

  Her next words were directed at the lake: “You are truly the most intelligent man I’ve ever known, and you will always impress me.”

  I grasped that she was talking to Merlin. Then she turned back to me and said, “To create a spell inviolable to our enemies, love was the surest of all sentiments, obviously. Morgana and Mordred would be incapable of feeling such emotions.”

  She repeated the first part of the spell: “’When you find the words…,’ meaning that for the spell to be broken, you had to feel and to acknowledge your love. It was when you finally admitted it that I felt the change.”

  “But how did Merlin know that would come about? After all, I might not have fallen in love with Melora.”

  “Myrddin always knows everything,” she proudly proclaimed. Then, looking at the transparent building standing before her, she cried out, “Welcome home, Gabriel! Your grandfather gave me this palace, and now it is yours.”

  I surveyed the immense edifice. Behind the outer walls, I could make out a multitude of turrets surrounding buildings linked by pretty bridges and covered walkways. It was nothing like a traditional castle. It was so much more graceful and sublime that only the word “palace” fit it.

  I urged Lightning to approach the lake, cautiously. When his hooves touched the water, they didn’t sink in; rather, at each step, a splash troubled the water’s limpidity, creating tiny circles that grew larger, into infinity. My stallion was walking on water…

  “Let’s go!” I ordered. “We have a kingdom to retake and a marriage to celebrate.”

  Viviane stopped me. “Wait! I must remind you that the passage has been closed for fifteen hundred years. Let’s avoid causing too great a shock to the people of Avalon.”

  At these words, she pronounced a magical formula that changed everyone’s clothing. In tunics, shirts of mail and medieval dress in warm, dark colors, the group of men and women gathered together and advanced to the passage, where, with an extraordinarily brilliant flash of light, they disappeared through a huge portal leading into the palace courtyard.

  At the edge of the forest, concealed in the shadows, something was observing them.

  Something with translucent blue eyes that glowed with ferocious hatred. And when they had all passed into the palace, its strident scream of rage so agitated the peaceful silence of the forest, that all the animals within hearing took fright and ran away to hide themselves.

  END OF BOOK ONE

  Glossary

  Conrois: Mounted Cavalry: Made up of 3 or 4 ranks of horsemen forming a "battle array." This ensemble consisted of small tactical groups called "conrois,” which were grouped around a banner representing a family or a lord, forming a block of riders and spears as tight as possible. The knights were slowly starting to maintain alignment, then accelerating when arriving at the enemy, the goal being to disperse the enemy into smaller, isolated groups that would be easier to defeat.

  Source: www.histoire-france.net: L’art de la guerre au Moyen-ge (The Art of War in the Middle Ages).

  Gules: Red, one of the four standard colors or ‘tinctures’ in Heraldry.

  Héraldic: Relating to coats of arms, family crests, armorial bearings.

  Corinthians: Corinthians: The Corinthian Order is the last of the three Greek architectural orders, whose character is especially determined by a great wealth of architectural elements.

  Author’s note

  When I started this novel, I already had an idea of who my two heroes were. Although imaginary, they reflect aspects of all the characters I grew to know while researching the King Arthur legend to develop this story. Merlin, the fairy Viviane, the Knights of the Round Table and the priestesses of Avalon being well-known characters, you may have discovered errors or anachronisms. I simply desired to improve the story and its intrigues by altering historical facts and legendary tradition here and there.

  You can explore the entire world of Avalon, and discover more about Gabriel and Melora at:

  www.heirs-of-avalon.com

  Dedication

  This story came into being thanks to the help of many people. I would like to show my appreciation to everyone who lent their time and talent to helping me create this novel.

  My family, first of all, who encouraged me and gave me the strength to complete my work. Thank you to my cousins for their help, and thank you to all my family for their support.

  Thank you to my children – I love you. Theo, my first reader, has been of great help to me in discovering the world of teenagers.

  Finally, I thank all my friends and readers who helped give life to this story.