My Mom was upset when I returned home and she questioned me to find out how things were at the Thomas household. I answered the minimum number of questions I could to satisfy her, before escaping to my room so that I could do some research on the Internet.
The first image I'd seen in my head had been the 'cactus'. The word cactus was something that had been associated with the image, but the plant hadn't looked anything like any cactus I'd ever seen before.
After several hours of frustration I at last stumbled across it. The Rose Cactus {Latin name Pereskia Grandifloria } was actually more of a tree or a shrub than a cactus. There was no doubt in my mind, that this was the plant, and that it would help Linda if I could get my hands on it.
Some further research told me that the plant was mostly found in North-eastern Brazil. It grew in the restingas (a kind of coastal tropical forest) but I couldn't for the life of me think of how I was going to get my hands on it.
I turned to the image of the crystal that I had seen. The name that had gone along with it had been Thenardite. I started to research that. This was much quicker to do than the cactus and within minutes I had tons of information.
The crystal was also known as Natrum Sulph and as soon as I saw a picture of it on my computer, I had an image of it sucking the water from cancerous cells, breaking them down and destroying them.
My research told me that there were natural sources of Thenardite in California and Nevada. That was closer than Brazil perhaps, but still a long way away.
"Fly the Road, youngling. Use the power of the Road."
Charles' voice in my head was a timely reminder of how I could solve my problem. Of course! How stupid was I? I didn't need to worry about flights or driving, I could simply fly to wherever these cacti or crystals were.
Well, Nevada seemed to be the closest, so I figured Natrum Sulph was the first thing to try. My next bit of research told me that Nevada was around fifteen hundred miles away. I wasn't sure how fast I could fly, but even flat out that would take a while.
The stress of the day and the hours I had spent at the computer combined to give me a low-grade headache, and I lay down for a while. What to do? I just had to try to help that brave woman.
Suddenly, I sat bolt upright on my bed. Charles' voice had said 'fly the Road' not 'fly to Nevada'. Was it possible there was an answer to my problem in my dreamtime?
Why not take the chance and find out? After all, if I was wrong there would be no harm done, as I would return to the Midwest a few seconds after I left. It was worth a few seconds surely.
Lying back down, I relaxed and searched for my connection to the Road. Very quickly after that I was flying. The familiar sight of the eagles greeted me once more.
Within minutes I was swooping downward and landing (gracefully now!) outside the stone circle. Charles seemed to be waiting for me, and he smiled as I landed.
"It is good to see you again, youngling. You know that there is still a lot for you to do."
"You called. I thought that you were trying to tell me that the answer to the problem I have is here in Gael."
"I believe that might be the case, but I'm not sure. My logic was that you would have two years here to try to find what it is you are looking for. That sounds better than trying to fly three thousand miles to Nevada and back, all in one night."
Charles had clearly sensed what I had been thinking of doing. I was disappointed that he didn't know immediately where I could find either the Rose Cactus or some of the crystals, but his logic did make sense. I had an idea and did something I hadn't done since the summer. I called the fairies.
Within minutes I had a small band of the little creatures swarming round me. I was careful not to hit any of them, as I knew just how fragile they could be.
Charles was staring at me with wonder written on his ancient, weather-beaten face.
"Are they fairies?" he asked.
"Of course. Haven't you seen them before?"
"No, never. They are spoken of in stories, but I didn't think they were real. How is it that you can summon them like this?"
"But you've mentioned fairies to me when we were studying creatures," I said.
"Yes, I mentioned them. But no one has ever seen one!"
It seemed I had really surprised my teacher this time. He couldn't take his eyes off of the little winged wonders.
"I've always been able to call them. They help me a lot in the 'other-world' - they're very good at getting rid of pests in a garden," I said.
Charles shook his head in disbelief, as I asked the fairies to search for the Rose Cactus or the Naturm Sulph and to let me know when they had found it. They twittered amongst themselves and then they were gone.
"Okay, now that I've taken care of that, I'm all yours. What lessons have you planned for me this time?" I asked.
The fact that, for once, I seemed enthusiastic about studying was almost as much of a surprise for Charles as the fairies had been. After a few moments of stunned silence, he laughed one of his deep laughs and rose to put me to work.
Charles had promised that I would begin my weapons training on this visit and he was true to his word. He began by introducing me to a series of intricate exercises. He explained these were important for several reasons. They would help to loosen me up and warm up my muscles. They would also begin to train my body in the fluid movements required for combat.
"Never forget, youngling, that movement is all important. If you are standing still, you are an easier target. In addition, if you are already in motion, your momentum helps you press home your own attacks."
Once satisfied that I was progressing with the exercises, Charles introduced me to the training weapons. These were shaped like the battle-sword and the complimentary dagger, but were fashioned from wood to avoid injury (he said!).
My teacher was merciless, believing the odd whack or two with the wooden sword would do wonders for the speed with which I would catch on. It wasn't long before my arms and upper body were a mass of bruises - which only seemed to make Charles laugh more frequently.
My other studies were not neglected either and I was thrown into level three religion with Grandma and level four geography and language.
Several months had passed since I had set the fairies on their quest and I was growing concerned the longer they were away without reporting any progress.
The next event of note on this most recent visit to my dreamtime was one that I controlled myself. I'd made sure to return my birthstone to Brenda and asked that she ensure it was with her each night when she slept. I'd promised myself that she would spend one day with me on each of my visits and I couldn't put that off any longer.
I missed my girl, and even though I knew that no time had passed in the 'other-world' (and she wouldn't even know therefore that I was away), I wanted to see her cute face, her smile, and her freckles. I'd put this off, hoping that the fairies would complete their task so that I could give Brenda some good news when I saw her. Now I decided I couldn't wait any longer.
Focusing all of my effort on conjuring up a mental image of the birthstone, I found that Brenda was holding onto it and I was able to see inside her mind back in the 'other-world'. The shock of being able to do that caused me to completely lose my concentration! I had to start over again.
The possibility of a link raised an idea in my head for something I had meant to test, but which I had forgotten before 'flying the Road'. I focused again and this time wasn't surprised at what I found.
Brenda was definitely asleep, but it wasn't a deep sleep. I could tell she was struggling to cope with the news about her Mom, but other than that I deliberately stopped myself from examining her thoughts. I'm sure I wouldn't want anyone wandering around inside my head (although it was possible that Charles did that already?) and I wanted to try to respect Brenda's privacy.
I called out mentally to her now.
"Brenda? Brenda? Can you hear me?"
Her thoughts answered without any hesitation.
"Of course I can hear you, Sean. Why wouldn't I?"
"Perhaps because you're asleep, my love. Added to that, I'm currently in my dreamtime. That's why I've contacted you, I wanted to ask if you wanted to join me again?"
"Of course! What do I need to do?"
"Nothing, leave it all up to me. Actually, there is something you could do. Could you try to wake up and find something electrical? Something small and something you won't mind losing. Maybe something like - oh, I don't know - something like a toaster. Once you've done that, just lie back down on your bed and keep hold of the stone and the toaster. I'll take it from there."
I remained connected to Brenda and could 'read' her movements as she woke up and hurried downstairs to her family's kitchen. It was only a few minutes before she was lying back on her bed with the stone and the family toaster clutched tightly to her chest.
"Are you ready?" I asked her.
"Yes."
I used the summoning words for the second time. I had chosen a spot on the far side of the hill away from the village before trying to contact her - I didn't want anyone to see her arriving out of nowhere.
"Afflubh! Afflubh!" I called out.
Brenda appeared before me immediately and I stepped forward to catch her before she slumped to the ground.
"Sean! You did it!"
I could see that she really had been having a hard time of it in the 'other-world'. Her eyes were puffy, red and swollen from all the tears she had been crying. My arms were already around her from stopping her fall and I let myself tighten the embrace into a comforting hug.
The contact seemed to start Brenda off again and I felt her body shudder in my arms, as more tears fell.
"Hush now. I'm doing everything I can to find something that will help your Mom," I whispered to her.
I looked down and saw the birthstone in her right hand but there was no sign of the toaster. That seemed to confirm my suspicions.
Before I could explore that, there was a thundering of hooves and the big black stallion came galloping towards us. He didn't hold back this time and put on his normal display. He stopped, reared up and pivoted on his rear legs while his front hooves slashed the air.
His antics had the desired effect on Brenda, as I felt and heard her giggling in my arms.
"Now I've found a bigger show-off than you, Sean. Mordew! You look as beautiful as ever," she called to the horse.
I was reading Big-Black's thoughts and was surprised that his intention was for both of us to ride him together. To my knowledge he had never let anyone else onto his back save me. I felt the pain he was feeling on behalf of my girl, in sympathy for her obvious suffering. I sensed he wanted to try to take her pain away if he could.
"He wants us to climb up onto his back," I told Brenda.
She looked unsure and glanced over at the powerful stallion. Mòr Dubh fixed her with his large eyes and dipped his head several times as if he was nodding. I could see Brenda make up her mind to trust him and that familiar, determined, look of hers appeared on her face.
All the exercising I had been doing had strengthened my muscles, but not to the point that I could leap onto Mòr Dubh's back. Instead I used a short burst of the power to lift Brenda and myself, until we were both astride the huge beast. As soon as we were settled, he took off at a fast clip and Brenda squealed her delight, the wind blowing through her brown hair.
Mòr Dubh took us down the hillside, through fields and woods and past streams and rivers. At last he stopped on the banks of a lake and we looked at the setting. It was delightful. High mountains flanked the lake on two sides and pine forests grew down almost to the water's edge.
The lake's edge was a mixture of broken rock (no doubt rock that had tumbled down from the mountainside) and fallen trees. There was one patch where these natural hazards were broken however, and it was to that spot that the stallion had brought us. Here there was a sandy cove, with the water lapping gently on the shore from the breeze.
My girl thanked Big-Black for bringing us to such a perfect spot and then began to pull off her nightshirt (yes, that's all she'd had on when I had summoned her).
"Come on, slowpoke!" she yelled as she ran into the water.
I waited for what I knew was coming. The mountains around us had snow on their tops. Unless I was mistaken, Brenda was about to discover that the water of this lake was very cold! My suspicions were soon confirmed, when she screamed at the shock of the cold water making contact with her warm body.
To my surprise the cold didn't stop her and Brenda waded further out, splashing water as she did so. This couldn't be considered normal behaviour. She was clearly mad. Or maybe she didn't want to look foolish by coming out of the water again immediately. Still, she seemed to be enjoying herself. Go figure!
"Come on, Sean! Come in and join me. It's a little cold at first, but you soon get used to it."
There was no way I was going in there. Even wild horses (or Big-Black) could not drag me in. Didn't Brenda appreciate that guys have certain parts that do not react well to cold water? I contented myself with laughing at her antics, and then smiling as I realised the stallion's plan to take her mind off of her pain was working well.
Even Brenda couldn't stay in the water long and she shivered when she eventually waded back to the shore. Acting like a good boyfriend should, I had anticipated that and already had a fire going so she could warm herself as the wind dried her skin.
While we were warming by the fire, an eagle swooped low over the water of the lake and seemed to pluck a fish from the surface with a splash. A second eagle followed and repeated the trick. We watched as both eagles banked over the water and flew towards us, their huge wings beating the air.
I sensed the eagles were Aquilaire and Accipiter, and that they had caught the fish for us to eat. It seemed as if the eagles were also in on this effort to cheer up my girl. They too appeared to be successful, as Brenda cheered when they dropped the fish, one by one, at her feet.
I soon had the fish speared on sticks and we cooked them over the blazing fire. We burnt our fingers when we tried to pull the fish flesh from the bones.
Mòr Dubh seemed happy cropping a small patch of grass twenty or so yards away. I could sense that he was pleased with himself for thinking of this, and bringing a smile to Brenda's face. He considered her to be quite acceptable despite the fact that she was a 'two-legs'.
Once we had eaten and Brenda had slipped back into her nightshirt, we cuddled for a little longer beside the fire, watching it slowly burn itself out. As Mom was often fond of saying - all good things must come to an end (does this tell me something about my Mom's outlook on life?) and Big-Black snorted to let us know it was time for him to return us to Grandma's cabin.
Brenda rode in front of me on the stallion's back. I had my ten-year-old arms around her waist. Mòr Dubh's pace was more sedate on the return journey, and we were able to make the most of the time together.
We both knew that Brenda would be returning to the 'other-world' before too long and there was nothing we could do to stop that.
"Perhaps if I try to stay awake I can stay a little longer," she said.
"I don't think it will work. Anyway, your Mom needs you. I'll be back before you even know I've been away."
"That is so weird! You've probably got another eighteen months of this visit left here in Gael, but when I wake up in the morning, you'll be with me in the Midwest and your visit will be over."
"Yep. Messing with time can certainly mess with your head," I agreed. "I've given up trying to figure it out, it just happens and I try to live with it."
Despite knowing it was going to happen, when I awoke in the morning and Brenda was gone, I still felt sad all over again. Charles felt he had the perfect cure for that and he proceeded to work me harder than ever.
The weapons training was a welcome addition to my study timetable however, it was something I really enjoyed. I enjoyed it despite the constant whacks from Charles and the fact that I was often exhausted after a session. My mentor claimed that he could see improvements in my speed and technique, but I felt he was simply saying that to try to stop me from becoming demoralised.
The most frustrating part of weapons training was that Charles had forbidden me to use the power while doing it. I thought this was somewhat senseless, as I knew using the power would make me much faster and much stronger.
"And what would happen if you found yourself without any power, Sean? How would you defend yourself then? No, youngling. You must first master the technique and build yourself up without the power. In fact, you should always train without using the power so that you don't fall into bad habits."
It was midway through my second year of this latest visit to my dreamtime when the fairies appeared as if by magic (which it probably was!).
I was in the middle of a sparring session with Charles when they appeared and the distraction they caused allowed me to get in a rare whack on my teacher's arm.
"Ow!" he cried, absently rubbing the spot as he stared at the winged creatures. "They're really beautiful."
"Don't!" I cried, as he was reaching out as if to touch one of them. "They're really fragile and easily hurt or killed."
Charles pulled his hand back as if scalded and I could see the idea of hurting the little creatures was abhorrent to him.
The fairies proceeded to tell me that, after a long search, they had found some of the crystals I had described to them.
"They are a long way from here, Sean. The crystals are to be found within a series of caves in the Urann Mountains in Scania."
My expression must have told them that I had no idea where the mountains or Scania were and the fairies turned to Charles for help.
"Hasn't his geography covered this already?" they asked, their surprise evident.
"Ah, well, not quite," Charles answered, his face turning an even deeper shade of red than normal.
"But surely you have told him about the war with Scania and about King Malcolm. What is his training for if not to prepare him for that for goodness sake!" wailed the fairies.
"Enough! I will not have you telling me how to go about my business, fairies or not. There will be a time for explaining all of that to Sean, but that time is still some way off," said Charles, angrily.
The fairies were in no way frightened by his tone and it was clear they didn't agree with Charles at all. Try as they might however, (and I was on their side because I really wanted to know what Charles was keeping from me) my teacher refused to back down and change his approach.
"We hope that this foolishness does not come back to haunt you, Charles Tàcheart! Sean, we have done what you asked of us. We'll be on our way now until you call for us again."
With that, the fairies simply vanished again in that way that they have about them.
Charles was still in a bad mood after the fairies had left and I suspected it was because some of what they had said had been causing him trouble before now. He was wise and there could be no doubt he would have considered his approach to my training very carefully indeed. That meant that things weren't necessarily black and white, which in turn suggested there were some risks in what he was doing.
"I'm not saying that I agree with anything the fairies said, but you are going to have to tell me something about Scania," I said.
He glared at me, challenging me to continue to follow this line at my peril. The problem for me was that I had no option.
"You know why I need to get these crystals. I am going to Scania. With your help would be my preferred approach, but I'll go on my own if necessary."
He considered for a moment and then sighed.
"Yes, I worried that might be the case as soon as they said where they had found the crystals. I suppose there's no way I can talk you out of doing this?"
"No," I said with finality.
"So be it. We will have to bring some of your studies forward then, not much, but enough to help you do what you have to do. At least we don't have to worry about a disguise yet."
I didn't understand the last part of his response, but the stern look on his face discouraged me from asking him to explain. He had just confirmed that he was going to tell me some of the 'secret' things he had been keeping from me and I decided to hold my tongue and count my blessings.
The studies that were brought forward were just as I expected: history lessons. Now, normally I wouldn't be excited about history. I certainly hadn't ever looked forward to them at Central. These lessons sounded as if they would be altogether different though, and I could feel my anticipation growing.
"This sorry tale begins when I was not much older than you, Sean. More than three hundred years ago..."
"WHAT! You're more than three hundred years old? How is that possible?" I cried.
Charles stopped and fixed me with his steely grey eyes.
"These lessons are going to take an awfully long time if you continue to interrupt me with stupid questions, youngling. We are in your dreamtime remember. I can be any age required to fulfil the task I have been appointed to.
"Now, where was I? Oh yes, it started more than three hundred years ago. There had always been raiding across the border between Axon and Scania - it was almost a way of life for those who lived there. One month an Axonite farmer would steal some of the animals from the Scania side and the next month the Scanian farmer would steal some back.
"One summer things changed however. The raids from the Scania side became more frequent. More beasts than normal were taken and then some herders were killed. The Axonite farmers appealed to their King, Seamus to help them and he sent his son, Con, to deal with it.
"Con sent scouts across the border into Scania and they learned that there was famine and pestilence there. Now, that would be shocking enough. In normal times Axon would have rallied round and tried to support her neighbours. But the scouts found out something else that suggested the loss of beasts and the dead herders were more than just the normal border raiding.
"The famine and pestilence were caused by the greed of the Scanian Royal family. King Regnald and his son Erik were taking all of the money and beasts from their subjects. Many no longer had anything to eat. Others didn't even have clean water to drink, as the King poisoned the wells to force people from the land so he could have it for himself.
"Con and his scouts were on a routine patrol when they came across a Scanian raiding party attacking a herder for his sheep. Of course, they went to the herders aid and routed the raiders, killing all but one of them.
"Several weeks later, King Seamus sent a messenger ordering Con to return home. Instead of the welcome he expected from his father, Con found King Seamus in a towering rage.
"It seems that the Scanian raiding party was no ordinary group, but instead it was a party of young noblemen including the Prince, Erik. When King Regnald was advised of his son's death, he demanded King Seamus hand over the people responsible so that he could execute them.
"Seamus would probably have done so to avoid further bad blood between the kingdoms, but he learned that it had been his own son, Con, who had been responsible.
"By refusing to hand anybody over King Seamus knew he was committing his Kingdom to certain war with Scania. He had no other option however, as he couldn't hand Con to Regnald.
"It seems King Regnald had been building alliances with other Kingdoms to the East, that is what he wanted all of the riches for in the first place. It may be that he always intended to attack Axon at some point, but when King Seamus refused to hand over the people responsible for Erik's death, Regnald used that as his excuse. Scania declared war on Axon.
"Seamus' army managed to inflict a mighty defeat on King Regnald and his allies, but at a huge cost to his own Kingdom. Although victorious, Axon couldn't occupy and control Scania. A treaty was eventually signed and in theory the Kingdoms are at peace.
"That was over three hundred years ago. Things are mostly calm now, but whenever an opportunity presents itself, Scania strikes Axon. Over the years there have been many such strikes, as Scania's power continues to grow to what it once was.
"That is how things stand today," finished Charles.
I could see the depth of sadness in his eyes, but still didn't fully understand this history lesson.
"But what has that got to do with me?" I asked.
"You are of the line of Axon, Sean. If you travel into Scania your life will be in real danger."
Edited By TeNderLoin