Title Pending (Chapter One)

Gan looked around him. He had dreaded revisiting this place since that fateful day of farewells almost three years ago. His dark brown hair was long enough to almost cover his eyes, and he was constantly brushing the messy mop aside. His face was tanned, and his eyes showed an age beyond what he really was. He scratched at the several week old unshaven beard and looked around once more.1

The high white towers rose up all around them, and the hustle and bustle of busy spirits passing by with a glance. Next to Gan stood the two that basically always stood by him, and he stood by them too. Thoron was on his right, standing in all his golden glory. He normally sported the white spiked hair with golden tipped highlights, but like Gan, the hair was outgrown and had turned into a dirty blonde color, eliminating the white. While Gan’s hair was a mess, Thoron could have passed for a male model. In his human form, the thunder dragon had piercing yellow eyes, perfect white teeth, and wore .2

To Gan’s left stood his beautiful wife, Avon. Her dark hair flowed like waves down her shoulders and back, and her long silver dress shone even more brilliant in the sunlight of the city of Avalon. The wings of her people protruded from her back, folded in neatly against her back as to not hit anyone, at her side hung the magical sword that she could transfigure into any weapon she desired, and in her arms she cradled a small child. 3

Barely five months old, the little girl slept soundly in Avon’s fair arms. Her hair was just as dark as her parents’, her eyes were closed in slumber, and her tiny arms were tucked in. 4

“Gan, I really don’t want to do this,” Avon said as they walked through the streets of Avalon. He wanted to give her words of reassurance, but his own mouth failed him and nothing came out.5

Finally, he managed out, “We need to find Arthur. If the spirits cannot help us, then you must know that I am doing this for the safety of both you and Ellia.”6

As if reading their minds, King Arthur stepped in front of them, as giddy as the senile person he portrayed to be. His hair was long and white, and his bright blue eyes shone with happiness, despite the dismal group before him. “Greetings, old friends!”7

Gan gave a little bow before Arthur, acknowledging the respect he had for the old man. “We need to talk to you, and I am sure you already know what is about.”8

“Yes, yes,” Arthur said with a little nod. “The council is awaiting you, although I don’t know why.” Then with a more apologetic look, added, “They have already made up their minds.”9

Gan had expected as much, but he followed King Arthur anyway. The flamboyant purple robes flowed behind the ancient royalty. They walked between people who would stare blindly at the mortals within their city, and went down street after street, until finally appearing in the square where the Stonehenge was located. It felt like a sword piercing his heart when he recollected on that day three years ago, as he said goodbye not only to Mathius and Néata, but to a whole other life and family.10

Just off to the side from the Stonehenge was a set a huge double doors, which were already open awaiting their arrival. All four of them, and little Ellia entered through them in all their wonder.11

The main hall of this building was devoid of people, but filled with the aesthetic sculptures and paintings of famous people, beautiful landscapes, and even some of a great battle. Beyond that was another set of double doors, much smaller than the main door. As the group approached, the doors opened at their presence. A long staircase rose from the cobblestoned floor, leading the very top of the tower. After several moments of climbing what seemed like hundreds of steps, they emerged into the upper floor.12

Inside was a smaller room than expected, but had windows all around letting in the sunlight and displaying a spectacular view of the city. A triangular shaped table, minus the bottom side, was in the center. The Avalon Council sat on the two remaining sides of the table, five on one side, and four on another. King Arthur showed the group to their own seats before the council before he assumed his own position as the tenth council member, sharing the center of the table with his sister, Morgan LeFaye.13

Gan recognized some of the council; Branor, the spirit of tongues, Ir and Ves, the moon spirits, Chronos, the spirit of time, and Ormond, the weapon master. The rest were introduced to them by Arthur. There was Keough, the sun spirit, Laran, the spirit of the ocean, and finally the human-form dragon spirit of the cosmos. Chronos now assumed the form of a middle aged young man, possibly only several more years older than Gan, which startled Gan.14

Even though there were three people before the council, all eyes stared directly at Gan.15

“Well, Prince Gan,” Morgan LeFaye began. “We have agreed to your request to see us. What is it you wish to propose?”16

Gan nodded, and stood up. “You are all fully aware of the state our world is in. Aisling, sister to my wife, Avon, has been wreaking havoc in not only Calador, but Oma and Senutii as well. From what she has revealed since we last saw her, she has struck quite a deal with the devil. She has been given a small, but elite, force of ten demons, which will aide her to her goal.”17

There was a silent pause, which Chronos took the opportunity to ask the obvious. “And what is this goal? We may be spirits, but we are not all knowing.”18

Gan nodded. “She revealed her goal, only because she has the utmost certainty in its succession. She has been ordered to find a way to Earth, and when there, to assume command of the entire planet. If she does succeed in this, she will be given an army.” At this point, Gan began to pace the room in front of the council. “She said she was going to do all this by means of the Stonehenge. How she learned about it was more of a concern to me than the actual means of executing the plan, because I knew there was no way she could overtake Avalon.” He paced a bit more. “But then she informed me of a second Stonehenge that the spirits, that being you, built on the bottom of the ocean.”19

At that, the spirits all looked away from Gan and down at the table or out the window. Except Arthur. To everyone else, this made Arthur weird. But Gan could tell Arthur never got ashamed of things, because he was the only one who was brave enough to face the consequences and have no regrets.20

Arthur nodded. “Why, yes, we did build a second set of Stonehenge. I think I will let Laran finish the story.”21

Laran, the ocean spirit, raised his head. His skin was black, and his hair was white, and he wore stunning robes of cerulean and white. His eyes matched everything else about him, being a brilliant blue. “Before I became a spirit, I was a merperson, and my people inhabited the oceans and the seas. When I was appointed as the Spirit of the Ocean, I put a word in that since the land people had a set of magical stones leading to Avalon, it was only fair to allow the people of the sea to obtain one as well.”22

Thoron fidgeted in his seat. “So then where is the second set?”23

Laran took a deep breath. “Since the people of lived in the ocean, that’s precisely where we placed it. Except back on Earth, our city under the waves was not stationary. We kept intense tabs of its whereabouts back then, but ever since the evacuation, there was no point.” Laran was sweating and panting heavily. The nerves had gotten to him; parts of his skin were beginning to break out in shining scales, and his fingers were growing webbed skin between them. “The ocean Stonehenge here near Avalon was originally placed just off the coast, but when the migration occurred, we relocated it to the oceans of Calador, as a gift to my former people to begin their own city of the sea.”24

“Yeah, we already know where it is now,” Avon said. “Aisling has already found it.” Ellia fidgeted and whimpered a little, but quieted down quickly.25

Gan looked up at the council, and the still standing Laran. “Unfortunately Lorana’s in habitants, the merpeople’s city, put up quite a fight in protecting the city, but the bright side is that Aisling hit a roadblock with the Stonehenge.”26

Keough stood for the first time. “Yes, it was my idea to enact rules for the Stones.” His voice was deep, and his black hair and eyes added to the mysterious persona. His black and red robes dropped to the floor when he stood. “Only a being born of the Homeland would be able to operate it. And after several generations of Caladorians, all of the original pilgrims had died.” Once finished explaining, he sat down, followed by Laran.27

It was Avon’s turn to stand. She handed Ellia to Gan, and began her speech. “You don’t understand. Aisling will go to any extent to get what she wants. Just look at what she did with her siege on Lorana! She overcame an underwater city! I don’t know if you realized, but land folk can only stay underwater for so long, even with magical enchantments. She will find what she needs to operate the Stonehenge.” Avon took her child back and sat down, disgruntled.28

King Arthur looked at the three of them. “So what now? What is your proposal?” This was the moment everyone had been waiting for. They had gotten the specifics out of the way, and Gan’s ideas were going to be unfolded, despite how terrible they may be.29

“Well,” he began. “Obviously I am first going to ask that you aide us in battle. Aisling might be powerful, but we all know she wouldn’t be able to overcome an army of spirits.”30

Morgan LeFaye’s ever stern eyes slanted inwards. “No! We cannot help you in any way! And furthermore-” 31

Arthur cut her off. “What she means to say is that Spirits cannot leave the city unless summoned. And even when summoned, we perform our main duty and return back to Avalon.”32

“Figures.” Thoron muttered.33

Gan nodded, absorbing it all. “Very well, it was worth a shot. On to Plan B. We would like to use the Stonehenge here in Avalon again.”34

The Council stared at him blankly. None of them blinked, but a few fidgeted. It was as if everything had froze. Ves was the first to make any real noise, and she cleared her throat. “Prince Gan, I told you last time you were here that the decision you were going to make was a permanent one. The Stones had been inactive for so long, they had to be reprogrammed so to speak. That took all of your interworldly magic. Even if your magic is still living inside the Stones, it will take a decade at the least to recharge. And the magic used program the Stones can be utilized through human, the magic to power the Stones isn’t compatible with anything. Only time will recharge it.”35

Gan turned to Chronos. “Don’t look at me,” Chronos said smugly. “I’ve always been left out of the loop concerning the whole future aspect of time. What will be, will be.”36

Gan nodded again. He was getting sick and tired of constantly having to agree to their bad news. “Fine, on to plan B point two.”37

Even Thoron seemed surprised at this one. “B point two? Couldn’t you have come up with a better name?”38

Gan took a deep breath. “If I cannot use the Stonehenge that is already here, and the other one has already been taken by Aisling, then we will be forced to create a set of Stones of our own.” Arthur was the only one smiling; everyone else looked at him worse then the last time. “Don’t even ask how I am going about it, because even I know it’s a dumb idea.”39

Morgan LeFaye stood up with such vigor and anger, the seat behind her tipped over. “I don’t even want to know about it! Nor do I care, because to create something as the Stonehenge takes years of planning and massive amounts of energy! So have fun with your little project!” She turned around, gracefully stepped over the fallen chair, and stormed off down a stairwell behind the council.40

“Dear God, and to think I’m related to her.” King Arthur let out. He stood up and looked around at the rest of the council. “I believe our business is up here. Clearly we cannot do anything to aid Prince Gan. There is no reason to waste our time in this room disputing over the undoable.” The other spirits nodded, bid their farewells, and left the room the same way Morgan left, but with more dignity.41

When all the spirits except King Arthur were gone, Arthur walked out from behind the council table and approached Gan. “Prince Gan, to be honest I’m not entirely sure how you plan on accomplishing what you propose, but I do know that it will require a lot of energy, just like the real Stones.” Gan nodded. “Please, come with me.” Arthur held out his hand. Without question, Gan took it, and instantly they were pulled from the council room. The feeling of teleportation was as normal as breathing to Gan, so nothing came as surprise to him. When the surroundings appeared again, they were at Arthur’s enchanted getaway, hidden within the heart of the desert that separated the spirit city of Avalon from Calador. The yard looked exactly as it had when Gan visited it three years ago. He followed Arthur into the house.42

“I had been saving this for a special occasion. I believe that time has come.” They entered the living room and Arthur strolled over to the empty fireplace, and waved his hand over it. Flames jumped to life, animating the walls and floors with dancing light. From under his robes he retrieved a small bag, which he poured the contents out into his palm. Gan watched intently as a tiny pile of gray dust emptied out onto his hand. With one quick motion, Arthur threw the ash-like dust into the flames. The fire grew slightly, and the powerful flames danced wildly within the hearth. King Arthur knelt down onto his weary knees, and reached his hand into the angry flames.43

As Gan panicked in his mind, he remained calm once he noticed that the ancient king’s hand was unharmed as it clasped at the translucent flames. As Arthur withdrew his hand, an object became visible in his closed fist. Once completely out of the flames, the object became more clearly noticeable. It was about the size of a grapefruit, but not as smooth. Its surface was covered in bumps and sharp points, and shone a dull dark purple color, emitting from the center.44

“This is a Ma’afel Rock,” King Arthur began to explain. “I found it one of my many journeys across these worlds.” Gan could hear the emphasis on the word worlds. “This one rock was created from pure dark magic, and is more powerful than an Eternal Orb. Hopefully it will help you in your plan to create a set of Stones.” Arthur extended his hand out, handing the Ma’afel Rock to Gan. Gan took the rock gratefully, and turned it over in his hands, feeling the sharp spikes pierce his palms.45

“Thank you. Thank you very much, King Arthur. It will definitely surpass anything I have collected so far.” Gan went back to admiring the rock, but at the same time fearing its unfathomable power.46

Arthur nodded. “You are quite welcome, Prince Gan. Now, we must be going. I’m sure you have plenty to do now. Would you be so kind as to ferry the two of us back to your loved ones?”47

Gan nodded, began to summon the magic, but then stopped. “Actually, I do have something else to ask of you.”48

Arthur inclined his head slightly, his blue eyes glistening in curiosity. “And what would that be?”49

“As much as I want Avon to share this adventure with me, as we have all adventures, I also want her and Ellia to stay safe. I believe the best place for that is Avalon. Would you be willing to find a place for them, where they could stay till my return?”50

Arthur nodded, closing his eyes shortly as he did so. “Of course, Prince Gan. But let me ask you this: what if you do not return?”51

Gan had already thought about this. In fact, he may have dwelled on these subject a little too much over the past months. “Whenever you decide it has been long enough, tell her to move on.” Arthur nodded in recognition. Without waiting for a verbal response, Gan slid the rock into his backpack, and then summoned the magic from within him and teleported them back to the council room. There, just as he had left them, were Avon and Thoron, with Ellia looking all around with wide, green eyes.52

Turning to Thoron, Gan asked, “Are you ready?” Thoron returned the inquiry with a look of acceptance. Gan then turned to Avon. She rose from her seat and stood near to Gan, and Gan took her in his arms, Ellia in between them staring up at her parents.53

“I don’t want to do this.” Avon said, on the verge of tears.54

“Neither of us do, but I will not allow myself to put you in danger this time. You and Ellia will be safe here.”55

Avon shook her head, tears beginning to run down her tanned cheeks. “When will you be back?”56

“Soon, I promise.” He held her close, wrapping his arms around her. “I will write a letter everyday to you. It doesn’t matter that I can’t send them, I will write anyway. Every word I write will be filled with my love for you, and I will muster every ounce of strength within me to send my love to you, across the stars.” As she cried, and as Gan tried his hardest to hold back his own tears, he began to sing:57

“Close your eyes, and I’ll kiss you,
Tomorrow I’ll miss you
Remember I’ll always be true.
And then while I’m away, I’ll write home everyday,
And send all my lovin’ to you.”58

Avon looked up at him. “Did you write that yourself?”59

Gan smiled. “No, the Beatles wrote it. They are from Earth, where I’m headed.”60

She couldn’t help but let out a laugh through the tears and sadness. “I figured as much. You couldn’t write lyrics to save your life.”61

“Let’s hope I wont have to.” He leaned in and kissed her, and she kissed back, making the moment last as long as possible as if it were their last kiss. And as far as they were concerned, chances were it was. As they separated, they stared into each other’s eyes. Finally, when it was time to go, Gan looked down at Ellia. He leaned in and kissed her above her curious eyes. “Ellia, don’t ever forget me. I’ll be back to take care of you and your mother. I promise.” He laughed as he thought about it. “Although your mother doesn’t need me to get by. I’m just eye candy.”62

Avon couldn’t help but smile. “Don’t listen to him, Ellia, we do need him very much.” Gan leaned in once again and kissed her, but when he separated from her he stepped back to Thoron, and the two of them disappeared into wisps of black and green smoke.