The Uplift Protocol: MFE B1 Issue 21

 

Issue 21: The Tower of London

 

            The look on Captain Murphy’s face when my Marion presented her with that gift is a moment I’ll treasure forever.—Elias Payne.

            While the Hidden House has been quieter of late I worry that this is a build-up to something big. The planet Zal’ka has been stoking its fires around the clock. He has pirate fleets on constant alert. What is the All-Father planning?—Security Brief: Utasa Sector.

            I fear what drew the Omega Defenders away from the Ouro. What else is stirring out there besides the known threats? Based on other sources, it looks like this task will be another one added to certain agents.—V’alkor Ayeer.

            While the influx of new tech and theories raced across Earth we still had to find the other Hosts. Along with any kind of weapons or artifacts related to them. In some cases, we had to rely on old-world knowledge. In others? We had to follow the crows. Robin also had to give me a bit of history. In order to understand the responsibility that one would wield with Excaibur.—Sleeping in Starlight, a memoir of the 22^nd century.

The Tower of London

Old London (England)

December 27^th, 2103

 

            Little John spun in circles. His barks of greeting only equaled by his enthusiasm. I picked him up, letting Ichabod touch noses with the lead Corgi. For his part, the rather fluffy rat settled in nicely. He was a quiet sort. Preferring to curl up on the pillows ever so often, right under a heating pad. But introduce a hidden knick nack or a bit of food and he was just as liable to go off hunting. I even found him in Jupiter’s botanical gardens. Searching for more things to add to his collection. Working with the Piper gave him some decidedly interesting qualities. For one, like me, he could detect Walker technology. Plus he could float. Doc still couldn’t quite get to the bottom of that one. There was some unknown element housed with the rat that she couldn’t quite parse yet.

            Elias waved me to his study. My mind was still stuck on Christmas. Zach had gifted me with model ships made from Typherian metal. For all the different Hulls in the Fleet. As he called it. I noticed that Jupiter took some cues from those designs but she was of unique origin like me. Still, it had been a good surprise. Payne grabbed a poker and stirred the dying fire to a pleasant roar once more. Adding more logs. We sat. He was quiet at first. I noticed him staring at a painting. It was him, alongside Marion. The Wielder’s armor gave him away. A white lion engraved on the chest. A fair-haired woman, with silver-blonde hair and gentle brown eyes.

            Payne caught me looking as well. “The Queen of the Avalon Isles. Guinevere. Also a priestess of Avalon. You know of the Sword in the Stone?” I nodded. “Most say a simple blacksmith pulled it from a strange rock. Made of Starlight and Heaven’s metal.”

The King hummed an off-key tune.

 “Yes. That is the myth. The reality was quite different. Of a more Markav bent. The greats of Atlantis.”

His eyes darkened. His words pulling me in.

Camelot

The Age of Heroes

Date Redacted

 

                Queen Guinevere panted. Her staff raised before her. Mordred's bloodshot eyes gleaming like two demonic coals. She could feel her husband running. The song of Excalibur on his lips. Most would remember him as Arthur of the Isles. The Lion Bringer. The White Flame of England. To her, he was her life. A light within the darkness. She could see the corruption within the Morrigan’s son. The great shame of the sorceress. His lips pulled back.

A sneer formed, “Are you tired, your majesty?”

            His armor was dented and torn. Ash littered the floor around him.

“May your Wall crumble!” The Black Sword raised. Its red sigils keening with bloodlust. She could smell the brimstone and hear the torments of the dead beyond the Weave. A sharp warcry resounded as Arthur slammed into Mordred. The swords meeting with a heavy clang. Excalibur’s magic filled the air. Mordred hissed. “Damn you. The Lines of Heaven and Earth will be mine!” A form of dark smoke shrouded him and a large disfigured bat exited. But not before her husband hurled a great spear at his fleeing foe. Catching the hideous creature in the side. Crows swarmed him. Pecking at his eyes. The Morrigan herself had come to finish it. The Queen turned away at the sickening crunch as the crows ripped Mordred apart. His body landed with a resounding thump in the courtyard below.

Robin and Lady Marion burst in. Armed and ready.

Their faces fell as they saw the carnage below.

*****

            Mordred’s dead eyes stared out blankly. His sword still gripped within his hands. But that was not the end for him. He saw the ghostly fingers plucking at his flesh. He batted them away. “NO! I SEEK VENGEANCE!” He saw black pitiless eyes shaped by gray. The tallest of them eyed him like an insect but waved a stone shape forward.  It said, “He is yours to do with what you wish. I will collect my due later.” The gray faces faded. Beams of light encasing their bodies and lifting them to metal chariots in the sky. He cursed them. He was God made manifest. Birthed from the powers of the Morrigan and the Sky. What use did he have for living stone? The two stone beings chanted and his body sank into the earth. Landing in a different courtyard. One filled with death and decay. He could only stare as they dragged him forward. The doors opening and revealing a far worse fate. A woman wreathed in chains cackled. “Oh, what fun! Excellent. Deposit him there. I wish to see what this sword holds. Remember to wrap him thus. We mustn’t let his soul return to the Weave. So much to do.” Her eyes held no warmth and Mordred felt his blood boil. There was a woman unlike any he had seen before. Even colder than him. No mere show of force or bedding would turn the tide. Another stepped into the room. A man also cloaked in chains. His face was impassive. “Dear, must we? There are better things to do than transverse this dirtball. The souls here have no taste.”

*****

            Guinevere watched as her husband sharpened and cleaned his blade. They had found no trace of Mordred. But Excalibur didn’t lie. It kept muttering to Arthur, “Keeper Interference detected. Highmaker notified. Relaying Information to Atlantis.” She peered into the waters of Avalon via her staff. The Line of Water responded, “Multiversal breach. Do not let Morded find the path to Avalon. Convergence is still many cycles away. Protect us, Priestess.”

            She replied, “What took Mordred?”

            “Pitiless eyes. Those who walk within the Void. Granted to the Lady of Chains and her consort. Each link is a life unending. Soul eaters. Their Lands died long ago. Taken by Unity but granted unnatural life.  No longer recognized by the Weave.“

*****

            I linked with Highmaker, <<So these Soulsuckers, that’s what I felt when the sword hit me?>>

He responded, <<Affirmative. In the days of Ta’mathon and other ages, we relied on the pull of the magic demis to safeguard the lines when we could not.>> I knew that was due to the Keepers constantly popping in whenever it suited them. No wonder Lady Sul’sandra had to interfere in other ways. I asked Robin, “Since Bel was able to get the sword I assumed Mordred popped up again?”

He sighed, “Yes. As a very decayed corpse that wouldn’t let go of the sword. I used a metal pole to poke at it and it froze the metal tip and shattered it. So we did what we thought best. Buried him. Placing various safeguards. Moving his crypt every decade or so. Until technology made it even more precarious. So many wanted to see what legends were true since the advent of INet.”

            I updated Highmaker, adding <<I’ll have Emris send you some of the samples it took from my blood before the Golden Lake cleansed me. Maybe we can track it that way when Bel surfaces again.>>

The Markav VI stated, <<Understood. We must build an iso chamber, far from our regular nodes. It is corrupted tech and magic alike.>>

            The Morrigan landed in my lap. Her eyes filling with tears even within that crow face of hers. Ichabod scampered down my shoulder and held up his paws. Patting her crow form with what comfort he could give. His voice was very clear, “Not alone dear lady. Never alone. Ichabod knows. Just like master knows.” She huddled into my jacket. Ichabod joined her. Marion came in and sat next to Robin on the couch. I suddenly wished Doc were here. The Morrigan’s old wounds bubbled up to the surface.

            She had been abducted by the Void Walkers.

Made an experiment.

Which gave birth to Mordred. Eventually, she continued the tale.

The Sword in the Stone

Avalon

Date Redacted

 

            The Morrigan laid Arthur to Rest. Excalibur clasped in his hands.

It had said, “Upon each generation, Arthur will return. Di’axi has promised this.”

The sword’s imprint was strong within her.

Its voice speaking to a deeper part of her mind.

“Guinevere will guide the soul through the Weave. A constant companion. She will guard us as the Lady of the Lake. Until the Bearer can cleanse the Lands.” She had seen the Scholar’s regeneration. It looked like a living death to her. Different from the cold sleep some Atlantians used.  She didn’t understand the concept of the Stone. For one, it wasn’t even a stone but a strange building guarded by magic unknown to her. Strange walls of light prevented entry.

But the lands around Avalon were pristine. Just like most of the Weave. The dangerous parts were polluted by the Unity’s influence bleeding through the various Leylines across the multiverse but she knew their Earth was different. They were tasked with so much more. The burden was almost too much to shoulder. She felt the Queen’s touch. “Worry not dear friend.” Her eyes were vast. Too old in such a youthful face.

The guardian of Avalon continued, “The Bearer of Life will emerge. We must keep vigilant. Robin and Marion were given the Waters of Life that flow through my Line.They will endure. So shall you.”

She handed the Morrigan an infant swaddled in simple cloths. His boisterous cries filled the air around them. “Take my son from this place. Name him Merlin. For he will swim along another path. The waters have foreseen this. He will need guidance as well. One day he will wear the name of  his parents as a symbol of freedom in a Land yet to exist.”

The Morrigan cradled the child.

His bright blue eyes and blonde hair reminding her of Arthur and his wife.

“On my blood and bone. I swear to protect him better than my own.” Her tears ran hot.

*****

            I stared into the fireplace. The legends said that Merlin helped crown Arthur but I could see why they had to misplace some information. To know that he was the son of the First Wielder and the Lady of the Lake. Here I thought I had a pedigree. This was something else. I felt the Morrigan peek out from my jacket. She knew what I was doing. I couldn’t help it. I didn’t like seeing friends in pain. “I know I have to go to Avalon. My mirror awaits but do you want to come with me Morrigan?” She was quiet for some time.

            She replied, “No. I cannot join you for that part of your quest. Just make me a promise.”

            I nodded. “Certainly.”

            “When you do finally catch Bel. Destroy that sword. Throw it into the Sun. Free whatever is left of him from eternal torment. Return his soul to the Weave.”

            Her pain was red hot spikes behind my eyes.

This was probably the hardest thing she had ever asked of anyone.

She hopped down. Paced about the room as a Crow for a few moments.

Her human form took shape. She gathered her robes about her. Her face all to old yet vulnerable. Her red locks gleaming with the glowing embers of the fireplace.

I clasped her arm. “I promise. This I swear on blood and bone.”

The Soul Eaters’s Palace

The Weave

Date Unknown

 

            Mordred listened to the calm beats of Bel’s heart. His mind was brimming with anticipation. It didn’t matter what the vessel was. He would use it. Become living flesh once more. It has been so long that he didn’t care. He wanted to escape the torment of the soul eaters. They hadn’t touched him. Some part of him disagreed with their usual tastes. So he had waited. Endured the long eons trapped within the very sword made to destroy Excalibur. He wanted to greet his mother again. They would be such a happy family.

            For about 1 minute.

            He reached out to caress Bel’s silken hair.

            Yes, sleep. Soon your body will be mine. With a new face, he could find his mother again.

            Find her and give her the sweet embrace of cold steel.

*****

            Bel was no fool.

She could feel the blade’s hunger for her flesh. She debated throwing it into the sun but it would have its uses. She would kill Thoth with it. Then dispose of it. She knew it hungered for more than blood. It wanted her. Or rather her body. She was used to that. Figures it would also come from an insane relic of destruction.

She got up and caressed the hilt. The things within the depths of this castle let her be for now. They wanted to feast but knew the true conflict would give them an endless parade of sustenance. So they let her soul keep its secrets. The greater reward would be set in motion soon.

*****

            I stated, “The Tower protects the Iron Line but where is Avalon?”

            Robin winked, “We left a way to access it. It just so happens you have the ticket inside of you.”

            Excalibur shined within. It rumbled within my mind, <<The path will open. First, you must travel to the Lands beyond. Where the Unity stood. I must see it as well. Only then will I be able to help the next Wielder.>>

            I asked, “I get that the Weave is a boundary between universes but I get the feeling that it's more than that.” Morrigan reached out.

My mind flooding with images.

            The Weave was that and so much more. It allowed souls to reincarnate. Sometimes within other universes. Sometimes going back to the outer edges of everything. To be reborn within the same universe. It offered solace to those not ready to leave. A place of rejuvenation and rest. To channel magic between the Lines that held the whole multiverse together. My brother’s belt was directly tied to the Weave.  My heart skipped a beat.

            I wondered what we would find within the Universe that birthed Unity.

            Ichabod’s tail curled around my fingers, his voice reaching my senses, “Unclean place. Be careful of the things that walk within the Weave there. It is warped!”

            I asked him, “Was that the Piper’s home then?”

            He nodded, “Yes. He saved the last of us.”

            His paws tapped on my hand as he talked.

“We were tiny forgotten ones. Found us a home here. Good earth. Strong.”

*****

            The Black caused Alexander “Dexter” Murphy to awaken in the darkness of the Typherian Embassy. It was almost 2 am. It spoke to him, <<Soon we leave for the Graveyard. You are more than aware but it will be a shock to your sister. Shield her empathy senses. Deaden them to the Torment otherwise, the feelings will overcome her and she will have no defense.>> He gritted his teeth.

            He remembered his dreams. The flashes with no name.

            He shuddered.

            He roused himself from the bed chamber and walked the darkened corridors.

Making sure to don his battle suit first. His Uncle greeted him, offering a mug of coffee.

            >>Another nightmare?<<

Dexter leaned on the wall for a moment. His tone was muted, >>Yes. We are about to walk through the fire. I do not want to take her there but we must.<<

            J’dax stared off into the distance, >>May the Rulers guide you through the great dark to emerge within the Light of the Stars once more.<<

            >>Amen to that, sir.<<

            They would need it.

The Dog Days of X-mas: Here

Issue 22:  Here