Ancient One Born AnewCopyright © 1998 Property of Deborah K. Fletcher. All rights reserved.
Lady Joiya was visiting the Castle one evening in early April, as the chill breezes of winter attempted to overtake the growing warmth of spring. Her youngest son, Taliesin, played nearby, attended by a page in the Helton livery, and Snowflake, a huge white she-wolf. Suddenly, a gust of biting frozen air moved through the room. Standing in the balcony entranceway was a grey elf in snow silks. His shaggy mane of silver hair fell wildly about his shoulders and his steel blue eyes sparkled with supernatural intensity. Resting his hands on the hilts of his twin short blades which hang upon his hips, he grinned at the assembled company. Lady Joiya's eyes widened in happy recognition. Rising from the couch, she hurried to him. "Greetings Correllan!" She hugged him enthusiastically, surprise in her eyes, and kissed his cheek. Abruptly remembering who this was, she stepped back, ducking her head in embarrassment. "I have missed thee, M'Lord." Correllan retrieved a tiny golden serpent from his pouch. He smiled gently at Lady Joiya. "Peace to you, my child. I pray that all has been well?" As he spoke, the little golden snake slithered up his arm and neck where it wrapped itself around Correllan's hair, tying it back into a neat pony tail. Seeing this new person, and feeling a strong attraction to him, Taliesin squirmed free of his mother's arms. He crawled to Correllan, sitting at his feet, gazing up at him with deep green eyes. Snowflake padded along close to him, stopping before the Moonmage. Lowering her muzzle to the floor, her shoulders low, she turned her eyes upward to gaze at him. "Aye, M'Lord." Lady Joiya stood next to her son, smiling up at Correllan. "All has been well, and the Mother has been generous to Her children. I am greatly pleased to have thee return to us." Memories of an earlier time flickered behind her eyes as she spoke. Tal reached forward then, placing his tiny hand on the side of Correllan's ankle, utterly without fear. A pale blue glow surrounded his pink fingers as the Moonmage became aware of a strong flow of unharnessed Healing. Correllan knelt in front of the child and Snowflake. He held out a finger for the baby to grab hold of. "Hello to you, little ones." He scratched Snowflake under the chin as he spoke. Snowflake's tail began wagging wildly at the attention from the Moonmage, her body wriggling happily. Tal moved his hand from Correllan's leg to grip his finger, still broadcasting Healing, giggling and cooing, his eyes seeming centuries old in his infant face. Correllan gazed affectionately at the tiny healer. He lifted the child and stood holding him out to take a good look at him. "So. . . .you are the one that the Earth Mother has told me of. . . .brilliant. . . ." He spoke very seriously to the child, "You are destined for greatness and your abilities will be a source of joy for many peoples. I add the blessings of the blue moon to all your others." At the words, Taliesin began to glow. Lady Joiya listened as Correllan spoke to her son, glowing with pride. "The Mother told thee of him, M'Lord?" Her eyes widened in surprise. The man and the baby glowed in shifting chromatic hues. The Moonmage continued to speak as if the two were old friends, "Ancient one born anew. . . . With each phase of my sister the moon, you shall find that new and wonderous powers will be yours. . . . The New Moon will bring rebirth, the Quarter shall bring an untying from your bonds to this body. . . . The Half shall bring Sanctuary to you and your loved ones, the last Quarter shall find in you your ability to sense all that is around you, seen and unseen, heard and silent, felt and intangible. When my sister shall show her face in full. . . it is thy strength that shall increase a score fold, and then it might rival your heart's capacity to love. . . ." He kissed the cheeks of the child and placed him gently upon the floor. The glow faded. Lady Joiya watched and listened, trying to absorb all his words. Kneeling beside her son, she tentatively brushed his wispy golden-brown hair away from his face, then gazed up at the Moonmage, awed. "M'Lord, what does it all mean? He already learns and grows faster than I can teach him. The Avatar to Wolf of Time has sent one to help teach him, but he is so quick to learn every lesson...." Her voice trailed off to a whisper. Correllan smiled gently at the baby, and then at his mother. "The Earth Mother indeed told me that he would come to this place. I am pleased that you were chosen to give birth to him. A better candidate would never have been found. If there is anything that you or this child need, do not hesitate to request it." "M'Lord, thank thee." She blushed at his words. "Thee dost me much honor. Dean and I are very proud of Taliesin, and love him deeply. I shall remember thy kind words, and call on thee if ever there is need, as I have done in the past, when I was so bold as to call thee brother, all unknowingly." He smiled at Lady Joiya and nodded. "When an immortal is born into a mortal shell, it is always very difficult. . . for all involved. His intelligence is vast, his power is great, and most of all his ability to love is nearly infinite. He shall love without question, without fear and without condition. This will be his greatest strength and his most dangerous weakness." He held his hand out to her, "You are truly deserving of such a gift. Be certain, it is not kindness. . . .tis the truth.. . . ." "Aye, M'Lord, already he shows no trace of fear, no matter who he meets." She smiled as Tal crawled about the room, carefully watched by Snowflake. "An immortal, though?" Confusion was evident in her voice. "I know such things happen, but I had not expected it for my son." Lady Joiya took Correllan's hand in hers, feeling the love in him that she remembered from an earlier time. "I shall keep thy words close in my heart, M'Lord. He will not have an easy life, I fear, for few understand limitless love, and most fear what they do not understand. He will never be without the love of his family, though." Correllan looked very seriously upon the child and then upon Lady Joiya. "Strange. . . . I do not feel them with me . . . . not since . . . . strange." Shaking free of his momentary reverie, he looked at her again. "Make no mistake, my child. Your sun is most certainly mortal. His physical make up is that of you and his father. The spirit within him is that of an immortal. . . ." "Aye, M'Lord, I shall never forget that difference." Memories danced behind her eyes for him alone to see. "He has some protection, though." She indicated the bracelets on his wrists and amulet about his neck. "Gifts from friends. I have been promised as well, by the guardian of the Gates, that Taliesin shall never pass through. Though I wonder whether forever is good...." She changed the subject. "Not since we last met, M'Lord?" Correllan's brow furrowed. "Joiya, it is most important that you and your family are wary of me. You see, when my body was destroyed, by the shattering of my sister the Moon, I made an arrangement with the Caliban Syndicate. They reconstructed this mortal shell that I might rejoin my friends here and see my Heart once more in exchange for possession of my soul. However, as your child neared me. . . . I did not feel them with me any longer. . . . Joiya, the time you remember will serve you well. The Caliban have infiltrated this body before. However, as I say, when I am near your child I think that they are supressed." "Is it not desirable to suppress their influence?" She frowned slightly. "Never will I forget those times, particularly the day I truly knew you." She smiled oddly, her eyes wide. A moment later, she realized that the Moonmage had departed. She sat for a time, considering her old friend's words, recalling the day she saw his mortal body destroyed, his immortal spirit revealing his true identity to her. She smiled softly, watching her son playing on the flagstone floor, happily unaware of the great destiny which had just been revealed for him. Please View and Sign My Guestbook © 1998-2000 Debbie Fletcher, joiya@tcia.net
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