The Children of Kishar - 4. Chapter 4

Andrew looked at himself in the mirror taking deep breaths, He knew he shouldn’t have been angry at Ry, the lion boy hadn’t known any better. Andrew also knew that Jeremy would smooth out his anger with Ry. The Green-eyed twin always did defend Andrew. As he calmed down, he felt his brother and Ry leave their bodies, and he knew what Jeremy was doing, and it hurt, because Andrew had always been his second, what hurt worse is that Andrew knew that he had practically shoved the situation on Jeremy.

He looked at himself in the mirror, “I might as well do what I said I was going to do, with that he stripped down frowning at his skinny body in the mirror. His body was covered in scars that his twin did not have, terrible physical reminders of Andrew’s mental scars. He walked into the shower and turned on the water.

It was the first time since their father’s betrayal that Jeremy had been so far away from him, and that hurt more then anything, for he knew without Jeremy he would be alone.

Andrew reflected on their life, and why the two of them, though twins, were so different.

The two young men were even as little children different from others around them. Their mother was a descendant of House Danu, and their father a member of one of the fallen, though they and he did not know it at the time. The name they were born to was Ó Séaghdha, though now the two brothers no longer used it.

“Yes even as little boys we were different, we could feel each other‘s presence, and knew each other’s feelings, if one hurt the other cried, ” Andrew thought out loud. But it was strange even then Andrew and Jeremy were a little different from each other, One boy had green eyes and the other blue, Jeremy was near sighted, which only got worse as he grew up but Andrew could always see fine.

Andrew remembered with a smile when their little brother, Alex was born, how he hated the little one, Jeremy loved him. He remembered too that when they began school in the Highlands of Montana, how Andrew would be picked on, and Jeremy would starts swinging at those whom would attempt to hurt his little twin.

Their lives though were happy but that began to change when they moved into Western Montana’s Wilderness with their family.

It was a sunny spring day and the three brothers were running around playing by a creek, when Alex wandered off into some bushes, and the two brothers went searching for him. What the two 12 year olds found was not what they expected, a being with antlers upon his head, wearing a loincloth. What was stranger about the man was that he was entirely green, including his eyes, and he had very pointy ears.

The man smiled at them, “hello boys, I have been waiting for you two for quite some time, and it seems fate has predictably brought you to me.”

Andrew was filled with dread and fear at the sight of this being, almost as if the whole of the world seemed to close in around his brother and himself.

Jeremy on the other hand glared standing between his twin and the thing before him. Yelling at the being, “Who are you and what do you want from us.” Andrew then saw something in his brother that he had never seen before and in that moment Jeremy had become his hero. He saw in him what he would become; a lord filled with the desire to protect his own, indeed that was the first time Jeremy’s eyes ever glowed green.

It seemed that the being too saw something in Jeremy, though at that time the boy’s aura would have been a candle next to a spotlight that was the creature. The being smiled, “It is well that you are strong boy, you will need all your strength if you are to survive what is to come, I am the being some call the Green Man, I am known as Cernunnos, I am the consort of that which is the spirit of this Earth, you call her Gaia.”

Jeremy frowned, “good for you, I still want to know why the Spirit of Earths boyfriend is talking to me and my twin.”

Cernunnos laughed, “why my boy, you and your twin are about to go through changes, similar to that many of your ancestors have gone through, you’ll become powerful both in different ways, and both shall suffer trials.”

Over the next weeks the two brothers visited that grove and the green man many times. It was the green man whom created the Order of the Emerald Dragon, and it’s mandate, to find the Children of Kishar and protect them. The Green Man then made Jeremy and Andrew the two leaders of the Order. It was also him whom first coined the term of Jeremy being Andrew’s Sword and Shield, and Andrew being Jeremy’s strength, and hand. As Children they did not understand the meaning of the Order that they created nor did they especially care, it was a toy for a while to them.

The twins later learned that during that first visit, Alex too was visited by a powerful being, a woman of gentle bearing and manner, wearing a green dress, with golden black hair, and shinning green eyes, she had gifted Alexander with powers that he did not then know about, all centered around a singular kiss to his forehead.

Cernunnos’s teaching and guidance too ended one day when they went to the grove and the Green Man was no longer there, leaving only the floating words in the air, “Farewell Children of Danu,” and two books on the study of magic. The twins still used that place as a secret place from their family, using it too to delve into the secrets of their own power.

Where as Jeremy was powerful, uniquely so in fact, far more powerful then his twin, able to use magic in ways that Andrew could not begin to understand. The Blue eyed mage was never jealous of his brother. Indeed though Jeremy was truly a powerful mage, his power was a burden to him, and for a time it weakened him physically to use it, to the point of making him sick.

The two brothers went different paths in their studies of magic, Jeremy delving into ancient and powerful secrets, as well as attack magic, were as Andrew could manipulate the structure of bodies, and use healing magic in ways Jeremy never could. Though both boys shared several abilities, such as the ability to talk to animals, though Jeremy could only talk to birds, and Andrew only beasts. Both boys could accelerate themselves through time allowing themselves to seemingly disappear from one spot and appear at another, though Jeremy only used this rarely. The twins also found that their ability to sense each others feelings had intensified several times over, almost to the point of reading each others mind, but only through each others emotional state.

Over the next year the two brothers taught the humans from their school the arts of magic, purposely leaving out their brother whom they wanted to be normal. These four others became members of the Order of the Emerald Dragon, though the four never had the power innate in those born to magic.

Sadly this came to an end one day, when after a dream, Jeremy took his book from their shared hiding place and stored his elsewhere. Their father whom had felt something was wrong this his eldest sons for quite some time, searched their room, and found Jeremy’s book. The man became enraged calling his sons devil worshipers, and evil.

The man even attempted to hit Andrew, which did not turn out well, making the situation worse, as Jeremy actually stood between his own father and brother, grabbing his fathers hand and using his magic to nearly crush it. Jeremy warned his father never to touch Andrew again, that moment ruined his family’s lives…for their father took Jeremy’s book, and Jeremy allowed him that small victory.

The weeks afterwards became increasingly tense in the family, the twin’s father would no longer allow them to even go to their friends houses, or even allow their younger brother into the same room with them, or them out of their room when at home. Though their mother understood them, though she was powerless, their mother had come from the House Danu, and understood their power and that it was not evil.

But their lives took a turn for the worse though, Jeremy and Andrew sensed that their mother was pregnant with another child, a female child born with the gift of magic, and perhaps power equal to Jeremy’s. So Jeremy came to his mother and told her she must return to the House Danu for the sake of the unborn child, reiterating a prophecy given to her by her grandmother, Rietta the Wanderer. “Four children you shall bear, 3 shall be mage born, 1 shall be human blood, and 2 shall be mage lord, 1 to follow my path and power, the other to succeed me.” Jeremy snuck his mother out of the house using his own magic allowing the woman whom gave him birth to be free from an ever more oppressive husband.

Their father did not take this well becoming increasingly angry and bitter, the boys stayed whether out of loyalty or out of a sense of guilt, Andrew no longer remembered, nor did he especially care anymore. He did remember that Alex refused to leave, and Jeremy would not leave without him.

Alas Jeremy had badly miscalculated, for the anger and hatred their father had for his own sons allowed a foul spirit to enter into the man‘s Heart. Though Jeremy no longer needed his book, his father managed to corrupt its purpose, and through it corrupt himself. He became evil, using necromancy, demonology, and other foul arts to gain more power. Marcus, their father through his use of foul arts began sucking out the souls, and magic of others to gain more power, but never touched his children, whether from fear of Jeremy and Rietta or out of some sense broken love that still sparkling in his soul. Dark magical power became like his liquor, or like his drug, it began to consume his mind, and his soul.

Marcus met another woman, whom too had children, and he inducted her into his evil schemes. Marcus, and his new wife increasingly forgot their mutual children as his evil radiated around him, corrupting the very land upon which they lived. And through this increased pressure upon the now de facto head of the Ó Séaghdha family, Jeremy suffered so much emotional and spiritual pain, as the son attempted repeatedly to counter his father with his own power, and at the same time hide and protect his relations, and friends.

This is when out of grief the two brothers committed their first sin against each other, Andrew attempted in consoling his twin by taking from Jeremy his pain, and transfer it into himself, and in his pain Jeremy allowed this. But after beginning to notice Andrews behavior after each of these consoling periods were Andrew became more withdrawn not talking to anyone, Jeremy forbade him from continuing to do so.

Andrew though, kept doing it for a time, while his brother slept.

Andrew withdrew himself for a moment into the present and cursed at himself, in the shower, “I was a fool, and if Jeremy had not realized that I was still withdrawing his sorrow while he slept I probably would be dead now, but unfortunately the damage was done and I began to withdraw myself from all our family.” He once more sent himself into his memories remembering the last few days from the final betrayal of their father, and it’s consequences on both of them…

It was winter and as the twin brothers neared their sixteenth birthday, they realized that they were about to ascend into a new level of power and that the two would probably not even look the same afterwards. Both knew that they would have to leave their home on what Native American’s Called a vision quest, and what the Aborigines of Australia called a walkabout, the Faerie on the other hand called it something entirely different, the Ascension.

Both boys knew that their mutual Ascensions would be different and that they would not be walking the same path.

Jeremy left first having created magical protections on his other siblings. The elder of the two brothers first traveled to the Alabaster Palace, capital of House Danu in America, and home of the Mage-Queen Rietta, the Wanderer. She and his mother welcomed him with open arms, and he began his Quest for Ascension. Rietta imposed another young man upon him, a cousin he did not know. The young man was, though the same age, a punk, and almost cruel in his temperament, having lived roughly and wild, practically on the streets of Salem. The young man’s the mother both partook and dealt drugs, which in the young man would not have gone well mixed with magic, so Lady Rietta retrieved her descendant from his own family. The young man, who was named Dillon Haakson, actually right off the bat supposedly hated Jeremy but when Jeremy left to continue his quest, Rietta forced Dillon on Jeremy, as he had not ascended either, saying that the two should go together.

The truth was that the mage queen had had terrible visions of Jeremy and Andrew’s imminent future and wanted to keep tabs on her grandson, though Dillon did not know it at the time. Jeremy suspected this and in a move that would show the kind of lord that he would later become, easily accepted his cousin’s company.

Though the two cousins hated each other at first the two during their solitary journey became loyal friends, for they had only each other to rely on, for the two mages were truly only using their personal skills and magic to aid them on their journey.

Andrew though had his own journey to begin, and left a couple of days after Jeremy, the blue-eyed young man traveled to the twin’s sacred grove and placed his own magic book there. Before traveling on, but unfortunately the twin’s father, had been following him, and as soon as young man left the sacred grove Marcus trapped him. The twin’s father took the now beaten young mage whom was now only his equal magically back to the foul place Marcus used as his laboratory.

Where Marcus tortured his son for a week on end, which many of Andrew’s present scars were caused from. Jeremy sensed what was going on, but could not do anything until he ascended himself, indeed that he could constantly feel his brothers pain and suffering was what was pushing him closer and closer to ascension. Their father then used his foul power to steal all of Andrew’s own magic except that which allowed him to live. And When Marcus was doing this last act Alex found the place whether by accident or by purpose, and perceived his brothers destruction. But in doing so both Marcus and Andrew perceived that he was there.
In that moment, Andrew also realized something about Alex. That the twins’ younger brother was the First of the Children of Kishar that they had met, though the twins had been blind to that fact. Andrew used much what remained of his magic to give his dragon ring to Alex, telling him with all his might and power to flee.

Alex did so using his mind to teleport halfway across the state to a place that he and his brothers knew as young children, an old barn, near where the twins first lived.

Marcus turned on his elder son in anger for the rings that the twins possessed, since a god made the items, contained magic equal to the twin’s own. He used his dark power to caste a powerful polymorph spell changing his son into a horse.

Andrew remembered that quite clearly, the pain of the transformation, how his hands and feet became hooves, how his face stretched out to become a horses muzzle, how the hair on his head both fell away and lengthened down his neck. How his body both increased in size and weight, and how his skin fell way to be replaced by a horses pelt and it haunted him still that He remembered how his own screams became a horse’s whinny.

The worst part of it though was the fact that he lost his connection to Jeremy, and along with it, his memories as a human fading in the back of his mind, while all that made him human seemed to fall away like his skin.

He remembered the tears he would have shed if he had been human at his own fathers words, “how he had been a bad son, but he’d make a good horse for their stock.”

What happened to Jeremy on the other hand, as Dillon and Jeremy told later Andrew, was something entirely different. When the twins connection broke, Jeremy went into a kind of shock, then soon after his mind seemed to change becoming almost oppressive in power compared to Dillon, as his body too seemed to change physically becoming slimmer, his eyes glowing brightly as his ears became pointed. Two wings of pure blue magic extended themselves from his back, looking very much like wings of a great eagle.

Power seemed to radiate from Jeremy, cascading around the cliffs that the two cousins stood on as the green-eyed mage bent his magic to take on a spirit form. He changed into a powerful blue phoenix, taking off and leaving Dillon alone, and flying northwest towards their family’s home.

Andrew’s mind came back to the present, laughing sadly, for most of the mages in Montana, at the very least Andrew knew that Rietta felt it, as did their Five-year-old sister. The blue-eyed mage then began to cry as he touched the singular scar that both twins shared, an ugly jagged scar that wrapped around both their left arms, and he fell back into reminiscing.

Jeremy flew through the night, Andrew later found out that Alex had been speaking to his elder brothers mind, telling him what he knew, and pleading with him to save their brother.

The green eyed mage arrived back what was once their home in the early morning hours, reverting back into his physical form, though wings of blue energy still extended from his back. Jeremy found one more horse in their pasture then they once had and He immediately knew who the horse was.

Jeremy who’s magical capabilities included healing but did not specialize in it, began using his massive amount of power to attempt to change Andrew back and restore his brother to all that he once was.

Andrew watched as his brother threw his magic at his brother using techniques and powers the blue-eyed twin could even now only guess at, all to no avail. In the end the green-eyed mage used his magic and his own flesh to restore his brother, cutting off his own left arm to use as a catalyst. It worked, but at a cost, Jeremy was killing himself to do so, he was using too much magic, expending himself. Andrew saw blood not just pouring from a brain hemorrhage, out his nose but from Jeremy’s eyes, and ears, as the Mage lord didn’t just go past magical exhaustion but continued his work, nearly completely draining himself. The other four members of the Emerald Order heard and felt Jeremy’s presence, and used their own magic to help him in the final parts and protect both of them from the twin’s father.

Jeremy’s last potent usage of power was to reverse Marcus’s theft of Andrew’s magic, restoring it to the blue-eyed twin. At that moment he nearly died, as burned his own magic book to deprive Marcus of magic usage for the rest of his life.

If it had not been for the act of their own brother, Alex, they both would be dead. Alex teleported both twins to the same hiding place that they had found so many years ago.

Sadly though Andrew’s magic had been tainted by their fathers touch, and it had corrupted the blue-eyed twin. Andrew could still feel nothing, and was walled up inside his own mind attempting to pick up the pieces of his memories and emotions denied him when he became livestock.

Jeremy then passed out upon entering the barn, and slept for two days. During which time Andrew just curled into a ball and stared at his twin, not touching what little food Alex could scrounge up for them. It was bitterly cold in that barn, though Andrew did not feel it, wearing only an old horse blanket next to the fire that Alex had managed to create.

Jeremy awoke, though he was seriously drained the green eyed twin was by that time recharged enough to attempt to help catch food for the three boys. Unfortunately he would not regain his full power anytime soon, as the food that the young men found was not enough to fully recharge his magic. During that time Jeremy had Alex bring the two stepsiblings to them, as well as inform the other Order members to flee the town, for Marcus and his wife would soon be seeking new prizes and retribution against his son’s friends.

Jeremy too attempted to talk to his brother, to consol him, to bring him back from the edge he knew Andrew was at, to even feed him. The green-eyed mage refused to allow his own destroyed arm to heal, telling Alex only if Andrew healed it, or if Rietta herself forced it on him.

Andrew remembered, the look of hurt and desperation in his twin’s eyes, every time Jeremy was in the barn. The blue-eyed twin wanted to do anything for Jeremy; he wanted to talk to him, to yell at him, to hug him, to assure him they‘d be all right, to even eat. But he could not force his body to obey his mind, so he just sat there for days after Jeremy awoke from his slumber, staring out at nothing. This hurt Andrew more then anything, because he could not feel his brother, but he could see the look of pain in his eyes, and it hurt him so much that if his body had obeyed him he would have been crying.

Dillon whom finally ascended himself came after his cousin arriving four days after Jeremy awoke from his forced slumber, making himself at home with his new best friend. In fact it was Jeremy’s own ascension that spurred Dillon to break through into his own.

It was that day, while Alex looked for food, that Jeremy thinking he lost his brother forever, kneeled before Andrew crying at the loss of his other half. It was these tears filled with sorrow, and possibly the subconscious use of Jeremy’s magic, that snapped the twins connection back into place, Andrew began feeling his twins emotions, and they overwhelmed that dark place he found himself in, awaking his body and mind, Cleansing the majority of their fathers taint from his magic and mind.

It was that moment when the two shared their emotions again that Andrew too ascended into a true Faerie. He didn’t know what had happened to him self. But he physically and magically changed, Dillon and Jeremy joked later saying he glowed gold, and they both gave him a mage-lord name, though Andrew was not a mage-lord, Sona, meaning “golden”, but that name was never used in public.

Andrew immediately set to work restoring the green-eyed twin’s arm, sacrificing a small piece of his own skin to do so, though both now shared the same scar upon their arm.

Andrew knew that he had changed terribly from the betrayal of their father. From then on he could not bring himself to talk to someone unless he knew them well enough to trust them, and even those he knew before the change, besides his brothers he had to relearn to talk to them, and to trust them, though they had done nothing to earn his distrust, even the members of their own Order, whom were their friends, and whom helped save them, had trouble getting Andrew to open up to them.

He also for years would not allow anyone but Jeremy to physically touch him, though that went away, and even the Break in his mind, lessened over time. What took months of regaining trust, lessened to weeks, then days, and now hours, partially because he placed his trust in his twin’s social decisions.

Rietta came to them within a day after Dillon showed up. She immediately upon learning about the experience of Jeremy’s ascension from Dillon and gave the Mage-lord his lord name, The Blue Phoenix of the West. Even though Jeremy didn’t even remember using his spirit form. Though the consequences of the two’s actions were far more long lasting then they had guessed Jeremy never again displayed such power, or manifest either the spirit form or the Blue wings described by Dillon, though supposedly they were still part of what he was. Indeed every time he dipped even a little too heavily into his magic, he’d get a severe headache, and start having nosebleeds, as if a mental block had been placed in his brain, to protect him from using too much ever again.

Dillon later swore himself to the service of not Rietta but Jeremy, and joined the Order of the Emerald Dragon, the two mages remained friends to this day. Alex too swore service to both his brothers becoming a form of a Fiana, or mage-warrior, indeed becoming Jeremy’s personal Fiana. His powers actually included much more then teleportation it seemed, but included the ability to manifest a sword made of psychic energy, and speak telepathically.

Marcus it seemed managed to gain back some of his power, though he could never add magic to his repertoire. Two years later House Danu finally drove him from the town after his corruption and evil claimed of the twin’s home and many lives. Sadly he lives still, and still has a small claim on Andrew’s mind and magic, though the twin’s bond was and is stronger then Marcus’s touch.

The family lived for many years within the Alabaster Palace training and learning their powers, until Jeremy had a vision that brought the twins to England alone.

Andrew lay in the bottom of the shower his mind going through their past, the water long since running cold, and his emotions betraying his pain upon his face, though with the running water one could not tell. He didn’t even know that Jeremy had returned, so absorbed in the past was he, until he heard and felt the shower water turn off. Andrew felt his brother embrace him gently placing some kind of cloak around him.

“You know you shouldn’t let our past interfere with our present Andrew, it is done and long over. And all you do by going there is allow father to attempt to get in your brain, and highjack your magic.” Jeremy said with a sad smile on his face as he pulled his brother off the shower floor.

Andrew sighed, “Jeremy your going to get your cloths wet…”

Jeremy laughed then. “What’s a few wet cloths between brothers, we’ve suffered worse,” he said as he traced the scar on Andrew’s left arm, “I never regretted sacrificing my original arm to save you, nor would I have my life. You and I are bound by fate, I’d never leave you truly alone to deal with this world by yourself, never again.”

Andrew pulled the cloak he now realized was a robe around himself, “am I a burden to you brother.”

Jeremy laughed, “Never Sona, my strength and my hand.”

Andrew laughed bitterly, “you and I never knew how literally that the Green Man meant that when he gave us those sayings for each other.”

Jeremy laughed, “Gods usually have an interesting sense of humor don’t they. Funny he put us on a path that is actually against the established Faerie governments in mandating us to save the Children of Kishar.”

Andrew frowned, “yes, it is a good thing that grandmother Rietta is open minded, or Alex would be dead.”

Jeremy laughed, “yeah speaking of Alex, I bet he’s pissed we left without saying anything to him, you know he’d have loved coming with us.”

Andrew sighed, “yah, but he has two kids, and a mage-born wife at the Palace, speaking of which, we can not go back there, it would pretty much put House Danu, both the main and side branches, in several difficult positions, not to mention a possible Magical attack on the Palace.”

Jeremy smirked, “I know, don’t worry I’ll tell you my plans over dinner. It’s been served by the way, grab your cloths and we’ll have them cleaned while we eat.”

Andrew frowned as he put his own emerald ring back on, “I knew you were keeping things from me, why?”

Jeremy laughed, “grandma told me not to tell you until I felt the time was right, which it is my right as Mage-Lord to tell my younger siblings when I please.”

Andrew growled, “smart ass, Grandma wasn’t being serious, she knows we don’t keep things from each other.”

Jeremy laughed, “I know which made it fun to wait, because I am going to tell you now, after I eat and can place an anti-spying shield.” with that he smacked his brother lovingly on the back “grab your cloths, Lucas is waiting to take them.”

Andrew sighed grumbling, as he picked up his cloths and walked into the main room placing them into the satyr-like homunculus’s waiting arms, smiling at the boy.

Then Andrew sat next to Jeremy looking at the meal before them and at the room as if for the first time, and then saw Ry sitting across from them with a grimace on his face.

Jeremy sighed, “Ry is a little unhappy because I couldn’t keep the promise in the way I intended.”

Ry growled, “you lied to me, you said you’d protect them, and if it wasn’t for those two chicks donating their whatevers for the job they’d not be safe at all.”

Andrew frowned and stood up, walking over to Ry. The blue-eyed mage rapping him a few times on the skull, and said smiling “Enough of that.”

Ry looked at Andrew again in shock, his mouth slightly agape.

Jeremy smiled slightly, “told you he couldn’t stay mad at you, I’ll tell you this I did not lie to you, I said I’d protect your family and if they had not decided to help me, I was bound by my oath, which may not seem like anything to you but it was made with magic through the magic of the Order of the Emerald Dragon and my ring, I would have had no choice but to go back and protect them if need be, or die trying, at the cost of everything else including your and Andrew’s safety. Now think about this, I nearly died to save my brother once, do you think I’d willingly forsake him, or you for that matter whom I am mandated to protect, over your family whom I hardly know. That oath bound me in such a way that even if we were in a fight were you‘re lived would be lost if I left, I‘d still have to leave to protect your family. Which is why now that we have help, I need you to release me from that vow, trust our cousin, because I cannot operate having to worry about loosing my family over yours. Since I swore it to you, you are the only one who can release me from it, consider the oath fulfilled, please, I’ve done all that I can safely do.”

Andrew simply looked at Ry intensely and nodded his head.

Ry frowned sighing, “I guess I understand…I think…I trust you, your promise is fulfilled.”

Jeremy sighed, as the burden of his oath was lifted. “Thank the gods, trust me now, I will check in on your family now and then, and make sure they are safe, and continue contact with Morrigan’s Fiana, her mage-warriors, and when we get to our destination I’ll invite them to come there under my personal protection.” He started eating ravenously from the massive amount of food in front of himself, and was quickly followed by his twin.

Ry looked at the amount of food before them thinking it reminded him very much of some kind of feast or Christmas dinner. The thought of the second, made him remember only a few weeks from now, he’d be spending Christmas away from his family alone with these two near strangers. He sighed sadly, starting to cry, the thought coming to him that he’d probably spend the rest of what would probably be a short life running away.

Somewhere across the room something shattered, followed by something else.

Andrew quickly stood up and walked up to Ry holding him against his shoulder, speaking slowly and soothingly “it’ll be alright.”

If Ry hadn’t been hit by his own emotion, he’d probably gone into shock at the amount words that Andrew had spoken to him in such a short time already.

Jeremy sighed, “its time…” he whispered a few words and suddenly green magic letters floated in the air, then shot off forming some kind of shield which faded away as soon as it formed. “Now we can talk freely, Don’t worry Ry, I know that you’ve been pulled out of your world and dumped into something that seems crazy, we’ll be able to settle somewhere soon, perhaps even stop your attackers permanently”

“Yeah, but I’ll be alone for Christmas this year, I don’t like being alone.”

Jeremy smiled, “your not alone for Modranec, we’re here with you, and we’ll celebrate with all the style that the Faerie know.”

Ry‘s face became confused, though his emotions were coming under control. “What the hell is Modranec?”

Jeremy smiled, “you call it Christmas, but Christmas is not when Jesus was born, and the Faerie celebrate that time as the Eight Days of the Modranec, the Eight Days of the Mother’s Night, which includes the Winter Solstice, it’s a much more rich festival then the so called Christian One, which is a lie created originally by the Catholic church to eat other people‘s religions.”

Ry looked at them with a weird look on is face, “oook…so were are you taking me anyway, Avalon?”

Both Twins laughed saying at the same time in sarcasm “ha, ha, ha. No way in Hell.”

Ry looked at them oddly, “what?”

Jeremy smirked, “We are definitely not going there, Avalon and Ys were the last great refuges of the Faerie before we started to truly hide among humans. Though the Tuatha De, the Ancestors of the House Danu hid in other ways. Both places are closed to anyone not invited, and we, much less you, would not be welcomed to either place…from what I hear those place are places of rot, the people are immortal standing outside of time, but their lives are now meaningless and the citizens have lost the flames of their souls.”

Andrew frowned, “ok, I want to know where we’re going since you said we’re not going home…I hope not to some cemetery or Catholic Church.”

Jeremy smirked, “oh we’re going home, just not that home.” The green-eyed Mage started to waving his hands expressively, “the Historic home of House Danu, the last refuge on the Mainland of the Tuatha De Danaan, The great city ruled originally by the Lady Danu herself, the First home of the Atlanteans in exile, Evaeleon.”

Ry looked confused, but Andrew looked at Jeremy as if he had gone mad, “I think you drank something before you got me out the bathroom, Evaeleon doesn’t exist. No one has found it in over 1,000 years of looking, it’s a myth!”

Jeremy laughed, “Wrong grandma found it.”

Andrew glared at Jeremy, “if that was true why didn’t she claim it herself that land is holy ground for the House Danu, it would both be a boon to her prestige and she’d have never had to start consolidating power in North America creating the Alabaster Palace.”

Jeremy smirked “because there is an enchantment and seal on the place that she couldn’t break, in the form of a riddle.”

Andrew growled, “and if Rietta the Wanderer could not break said riddle what makes you think you have the answer?”

Jeremy smirked, “because I am the Answer to the Riddle.”

Andrew just gaped at him for a second before stuffing a bread roll into his mouth, Ry looked back and forth between the two of them, slightly lost.

Just then the sharp ears of the lion and the elves heard muffled crying from outside the door to their room.