The Archimage Wars: Wizard of Abal (49 page)

“
Toji!” I yelled, but I was
speaking to his brief afterimage.

Merlin came back to the portal and
said, “I can sense where he went; it was Earth, though to which
portal there I cannot say.”

“
Can you tell where the
others went as well?”

Merlin shook his head, “The older the
use, the harder that is, I can only sense where Toji went because
he departed so recently.”

I was still looking at the Portal and
said, “How could Toji do that? He has sworn an oath to serve me,
and yet he took the sword I had promised to return to
Nimue.”

Merlin answered, “I do not know,
Bakemono Honor is a strange thing, it can have many more twists and
turns than you might imagine. For now, I would guess he was honor
bound in some other way, he seemed quite apologetic for this act,
so maybe it is something he could not avoid.”

I nodded, but I felt a sense of
betrayal; after all we had gone through, my ‘friend’ had chosen to
leave, without a word or explanation. It made no sense. I sighed,
and then said, “Well, Nimue is going to be pissed when she learns I
let her sword get stolen.”

Merlin laughed, “The Lady of the Lake
will get over it, she has in the past,” he said with a
chuckle.

“
You have had trouble with
Caliburn before?” I asked.

Merlin replied, “I prefer some of the
more recent terms, ever since we used it on Earth, the sword has
been known as Excalibur.”

“
From the old King Arthur
legends,” I noted, and then asked, “Are you really the Merlin from
those tales?”

He chuckled softly, “No, and yes. I am
likely the person they are referring to, but the details of the
legend are no doubt mostly myth by now, with very little of the
real facts involved. That often happens as time passes and events
are passed down through the mundane records.”

“
And Medrod? Who is he in
those legends?”

“
Perhaps you heard of
Mordred, and Morgana?”

“
Medrod and
Morgain?”

Merlin nodded, and then added, “And at
this point, I can guess who The White Enchantress is, even though
you seem bound not to tell me, or confirm my guess.”

“
Oh?” I asked.

“
The White Enchantress is
the translation of Finnabair, an Irish name. Of course, Finnabair
is Gwenhwyfar, in Welsh, which translates to the more modern name
of Guinevere. I’m not surprised Guinevere was involved in this
Civil War, she was also deeply involved in the whole Dragon affair
on Earth.”

My head was spinning as I tried to
reconcile the old legends with the actual people I had come to know
and that my father was the wizard Merlin, and my mother
Guinevere.

Now that Five Point travel was
available on Mystical Island, Merlin opened a portal to Poseidon.
Once there he dismissed the wizard Timarod from control of the
city, assigning the suddenly blue faced saeran to more clerical
duties. I remembered the little officious bastard, Timarod, quite
well, he was the wizard who had tried to kill Myrka and hold me in
Poseidon a few weeks ago. Merlin took control of the capital and
set things swiftly in order.

When he finished, I had a chance to be
alone with my father for the first time. I really wanted to tell
him I was his son, but I’d promised my mother, so I waited.
However, there was something else I’d come to Abal to ask the
Archimage.

“
Merlin?”

He was at a large stone desk, looking
over reports, and glanced up at me. He put his pen aside, and sat
back, and then said, “So, are you ready to tell me the rest of what
you have been holding back?”

I grimaced, “You notice
that?”

“
A wizard, of my House,
comes to my rescue on Mystical Island, yes, I knew there was a lot
more to your story, and I just figured you weren’t ready to tell it
yet.”

I nodded, and then explained about my
missing memory, the dream about my orders to obtain information,
and the fact that The Dragon was after me, and how I’d taken
something I could not recall from the Dark One. I then explained my
reasoning that Merlin was the one who had ordered me to steal from
The Dragon since Merlin was my Archimage, and how I’d come to Abal
in hopes he could help restore my memories, and retrieve the
information I’d obtained.

After explaining the whole thing,
Merlin just sat there for a time, staring at me, and then finally
said, “Well, the first thing I have to tell you is I did not send
you to steal information from The Dragon, or from anyone, for that
matter. I don’t know you.”

Of course! He would have recognized me
immediately had I been one of his agents, and a known mage. I
should have thought of that, but things had been moving so swiftly
I hadn’t had a chance to stop and think it through.

He continued, “Now, as to restoring
your memories, I will take a look and see if there is anything that
can be done.”

He concentrated and then asked me, “Do
you remember anything now?”

I shook my head, “Nothing new, not
about who ordered me to steal the information, or what information,
or anything past waking up in the Temple of Karnak.”

He nodded, “I was afraid of that. The
spell they used likely wiped those memories completely, so I cannot
create them again without knowing them myself. However, it is
possible that the person who hit you with the spell could restore
them if they were kept. Now, it is equally possible you will still
remember them on your own, especially since you have gotten a
couple of things back. That makes me believe there is more you may
recover. Perhaps some will come back when you get to more familiar
things. For example, if you could find the actual person who gave
you those orders, it might help you remember, it’s hard to say, but
don’t lose hope!”

A few hours later we Five Point
traveled to Ouroboros, where we found that, with the help of my
mother’s golem army, Oberon’s forces had mostly destroyed and then
routed the remainder of Morgain’s army.

There were several mages at Ouroboros,
so Merlin ordered a Fourth to take over control of this city and
another Fourth, and two Fifths to Five Point travel to Poseidon.
With those two cities covered, he ordered Oberon to go to Mystical
Island, where he was to capture Morgain should she decide to return
via the Portal. With Oberon being a Second, he could hopefully
handle Morgain should she return. He then ordered the bulk of the
remaining army to go to the aid of Gunder, at the city of Kromwall,
with orders to liberate the city, and then head for the fortress of
Nithar to aid Braun against any remaining forces of Morgain’s
armies.

Merlin then opened a Star to Castle
Ivory. I was anxious to have my mother talk to Merlin so that I
could finally tell him I was his long lost son, and speak to him as
my father. On arriving at my mother’s castle, we found Morgain’s
besieging army gone, they had been defeated and then had disbanded
due to desertions. As soon as word had spread that Mystical Island
had fallen, and Morgain was on the run from the First Wizard of
Abal, those who were conscripted, due to fear, deserted, and the
rest fled.

But we soon discovered that my mother
was not at Ivory Castle. I tried calling her name aloud, but no
spirit bridge was formed. This meant it was likely she was off
World by now.

Once that was evident, Merlin decided
to depart, and said, “I’m sorry, I wished to thank the architect of
the plan that freed me from my imprisonment at Morgain’s hand, and
helped to liberate Abal. If she should return, please have her come
to the capital so that I can personally give her my thanks. Or, if
she is still pursuing Morgain, I offer my aid in apprehending the
Island Witch so that we can give her the reward she so richly
deserves, an end to her entire line.”

I nodded. I really wanted to tell him
the truth about our relationship, but I had to keep my promise to
my mother, so I let him go. Merlin made a Star and Five Point
traveled out, heading back to the capitol. I decided to stay in
case my mother returned through her portal.

The others were grabbing some food
when I wandered into the library. It was the place I most
associated with my mother. In the time we’d spent here, I’d most
often found The White Enchantress in her library, sitting in her
favorite chair while reading. On the small table next to that big
comfortable chair is where I found the envelope. Not just anyone
could have found it, the envelope only appeared when I drew near,
and it hadn’t been here earlier when others were present. She must
have set it to only appear for me, and when I was alone.

I opened the letter and
read:

“
Dear son.

“
If you are reading this,
then things did not go as planned at Mystical Island, yet I am
pleased you have survived. It also means I am either dead or have
gone seeking Morgain. You will survive me because you are part of
your father’s line. If I am not here, yet still alive, just know I
have my reasons for hunting Morgain, and must pursue this quest. I
will contact you soon!

“
However, now I must reveal
part of the plan you were not yet meant to know while still on
Mystical Island. This will be hard, but you must understand that I
always have good reasons for the things I tell you, true or false.
First off, I really am your mother, but forgive me for telling you
Merlin is your father, he is not. In fact, Merlin is the person who
stole you from me when you were a child. I sensed him but was
unable to find where he had taken you. I followed him to Earth, and
there went through various things in my quest to find you, my
son.

“
I was on Earth with your
father, The White Knight, during that time. He now resides on my
home world. I cannot tell you about him, not now. I have very good
reasons why I must keep his real identity a secret from you. Just
know you are a Sivaeral Second. But, your father’s true identity
MUST be kept hidden from everyone, for that makes you what the
Houses term a ‘Crossbreed Bastard’. You are the son of an Albus
Second and a Sivaeral Second. This is forbidden, by the Accords,
and if it were common knowledge, you would be hunted by all the
Houses. Therefore, for your safety, and other reasons, this MUST
remain our secret! Tell no one!

“
Now, here is why I lied to
you about Merlin being your father when he is really your abductor.
I never learned why Merlin took you from me when you were a small
child, but I did discover that Merlin was either in league or had
some compact with The Dragon. I do not know if they are still
working together, or if that was only a temporary truce between
Archimages. What I do know is this, we must find out the truth. I
arranged this whole plan so you would rescue Merlin because you
thought he was your father, and I hope this plan has come to
fruition! If so, then he trusts you now, and you may continue to be
known to him as a Hidden Third of House Sivaeral. Even if Merlin
figures out who I am, he will not suspect you are spying for me; he
does not know I learned of his involvement with The Dragon on
Earth.

“
Stay the course, play your
part, and learn what you can from Merlin, but never trust him! Stay
with Merlin as a loyal Sivaeral wizard until we find the truth
about him and The Dragon. Then we can decide, together, what we
should do. When you have learned something valuable, come to me on
my home World.

Love,

Your Mother.”

I placed the letter back in the
envelope and then onto the table. I walked to the books and looked
at them absently; I was considering my mother’s words.

That is when Morgain said,
“Interesting. They say an Albus plan has so many layers you never
know when you have reached the center.”

I turned and found the Dokkalfar
necromancer standing by my mother’s chair, reading the letter
Guinevere had left for me. She did not seem concerned, or even
threatening, but I knew better.

“
What are you doing here,
Witch,” I answered.

She put down the letter and then
smiled, as she replied, “Hiding from your mother, and this is the
last place I figured she would look. Obviously, now I’m going to
have to find somewhere else to go. I’m quite angry with her, she
has ruined centuries of work! I had all but completed the
destruction of House Sivaeral, but you have ruined all that, and I
will have my revenge on you!”

“
Good luck, Bitch without
an Island,” I retorted.

She glowered at me for a moment and
then shrugged, and spoke without showing anger, “You have killed my
husband…”

“
You don’t seem very put
out about that,” I noted.

She ignored me and continued calmly,
“and released the Archimage of Sivaeral. In hindsight, the second
time we bound him I should have just killed the Archimage, but
there was my ‘husband’; if I killed his father, well, that would
have also meant Medrod’s death. Still, now I see that it would have
served me better. No matter, the Dokkalfar WILL destroy all of the
Houses; all you have done is delay the inevitable.”

“
Glad to be of service,” I
noted flippantly.