Arthur looked at Merlin, smiling. He turned and put a hand on Merlin’s shoulder.
“Yes, old friend. We have a beginning.”
The End
EPILOGUE
In the days that were to come, many strange and wonderful things came about for Tristan. The first was the amazing sight of seeing Merlin collapse the Round Table back into its original shape and tuck it into a pouch for safekeeping until it could be taken to Arthur’s great hall in Camelot.
On their arrival there, Tristan was accosted by a very indignant Elias, who derided him for leaving him once again. He was quickly placated by the tale of what had happened and the knowledge that he would be a page to Tristan’s new knighthood. His parents’ debt was paid by the king for “bravery and deeds rendered in service of the king.” An equal amount was given to Savaric/Tristan’s grandmother, who left Nicola behind to live with her grandson in Camelot. Her magical tendencies were soon noticed by Merlin and she was invited to study Camelot’s store of magical texts with him.
The Round Table was placed in the great hall, where it magically fit, as it did in any room it was placed into. The stone Sator Square remained with the table. The ruby was placed into King Arthur’s crown. Many of the king’s knights were chosen by the table to receive gifts and magical powers. Lancelot gained the power to transform into any animal of his choice, and Gawaine gained swordsmanship mastery. When Elias was old enough to become a knight, he gained the power to heal.
All the gifts of his knights, as well as his own invincibility, led to what is known as the Twelve Invincible Battles where Arthur could not be beaten and his firm rule upon the land was solidified. These victories established the first inklings of what would become the United Kingdom that we know today and, during an era of greatness, spread all over the globe and ruled most of the known world.
However, as foretold, to this day King Arthur’s reign is not recognized as the beginning of a mighty nation, but rather as a children’s tale of myth and legend.
Except for one small thing.
King Arthur’s subjects and his knights loved him and the progress and peace he brought to the land. The edict of the Round Table that no great monuments would be erected to him was well known. Many protested that this sentence, so to speak, was unfair. It’s not known who started it, or how, but small carvings into stones of a cup surrounded by rings began to crop up. Soon they were found all over Britannia, and eventually throughout Europe. These tributes, however small, are a sign to this day of one of the greatest kings who ever ruled Britannia.
AUTHOR’S NOTES
The carved cup and rings, similar to those in the story, have indeed been found throughout Europe, including Atlantic Europe (Northern England, Scotland, Ireland, Brittany, Portugal, and Galicia (Spain), and Mediterranean Europe (Italy, Greece, Switzerland.) Similar forms are also found throughout the world including Mexico, Brazil, Greece, and India. They consist of a concave depression, no more than a few centimeters across, pecked into a rock surface and often surrounded by concentric circles also etched into the stone. Sometimes a linear channel called a gutter leads out from the middle. It is unknown what these carvings signify.
Sator Stones are carved in stone and are found all over the United Kingdom and Europe. One interpretation of the Latin palindrome is “The sower works for mastery by turning the wheel.”
Banna is a Roman fort known today as Birdoswald near the west end of Hadrian’s Wall. It sits above the River Irthing. The ruins are still visible. Hadrian’s Wall, also known as Aelian’s Wall, was started in 122 AD, took six years to build, and runs 135 kilometers or 84 miles across England.
Thor’s Cave is in the Pennine Mountains in Staffordshire, England. Excavations in 1864–1865 and 1927–1935 found human and animal remains, stone tools, pottery, amber beads, and bronze items within Thor’s Cave and the adjacent Thor’s Fissure Cavern. The caves are estimated to have contained the burial sites of at least seven people.
Jenny or Gennora Greenteeth is a legendary water fairy associated with the Lancashire area.
Local legends have repeated that Uther Pendragon really did try to divert the River Eden, unsuccessfully.
Pythagoras, a Greek who lived from 570 to 495 BC, is best known as the creator of the Pythagorean theorem. Ancient authorities note the similarities between his religious suppositions and the Oracle at Delphi. He traveled extensively, including to Egypt and India. After his travels, Pythagoras moved to Croton, in Italy (Magna Graecia), where he quickly attained extensive influence, and many people followed him. Later biographers tell fantastical stories of the effects of his eloquent speeches espousing the abandonment of a luxurious and corrupt way of life and devoting themselves to the purer way of life.
“According to Diogenes Laërtius, his followers established a select brotherhood or club for the purpose of pursuing the religious and ascetic practices which developed. According to Diogenes Laërtius, what was done and taught among the members was kept a secret. The esoteric teachings may have concerned science and mathematics, or religious doctrines, and may have been connected with the worship of Apollo. Temperance of all kinds seems to have been strictly urged.
“Conflict seems to have broken out between the towns of Sybaris and Croton. The forces of Croton were headed by the Pythagorean Milo, and it is likely that the members of the brotherhood took a prominent part. After the decisive victory by Croton, a proposal for establishing a more democratic constitution, was unsuccessfully resisted by the Pythagoreans.”
“Their enemies, headed by Cylon and Ninon, the former of whom is said to have been irritated by his exclusion from the brotherhood, roused the populace against them. An attack was made upon them while assembled either in the house of Milo, or in some other meeting-place. The building was set on fire, and many of the assembled members perished; only the younger and more active escaping. Similar commotions ensued in the other cities of Magna Graecia in which Pythagorean clubs had been formed.”
“As an active and organized brotherhood, the Pythagorean order was everywhere suppressed, and did not again revive. Still the Pythagoreans continued to exist as a sect, the members of which kept up among themselves their religious observances and scientific pursuits, while individuals, as in the case of Archytas, acquired now and then great political influence.”1
1 Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pythagoras
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Although The Secret Key of Pythagorum is Michele Angello’s first work of fiction, it doesn’t represent her first writing efforts. Michele began writing and taking photos for the Faith Academy High School newspaper in Manila, Philippines. After discovering an ability for scriptwriting while running a video production company, she dove into a full-time writing career in copywriting, and later, resume writing. Her resumes have been published in eight resume books. Her love for writing stories comes from her unconventional upbringing, a complete obsession with creativity in many different forms, exciting and adventurous dreams that make her want to fall back to sleep, and a love of mysteries and strange history. Michele currently lives in the Denver Metro area with her husband, Tony and black Labrador Retriever, Bella.
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