Emily & David's #Quest: A #Saga of the Ancient Family Trilogy

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Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 == Click

EMILY & DAVID’S QUEST == Click

Chapter 1 - Emily opened her eyes. She had been to the place of dreams, where she had dreamed the Dream of Dreams. She dreamed of her mother, Morgana, the Story Teller. She dreamed of her father, Solomon, the greatest Story Teller who ever lived.

She had known the man with the long, white flowing beard was her father. But Solomon had had no words for her. He had killed her.

Why? She didn’t know. She could not explain why. She only knew she was dead. But if she was dead, where was she now? This place was neither Elysium nor Underworld. She was neither here nor there.

Morgana had told her that when the Dream of Dreams is dreamed, there are no more stories to be told. Then why did Emily still have stories to tell? Emily had seen her name written in the Book of Life. She had dreamed her last dream when Solomon closed the stories in her mind. So why did she still have stories to tell?

“Where am I?” she wondered aloud.

“Valencia,” she heard a young man say. “I found you on the battlefield and brought you to this cave.”

“Who are you?” Emily asked, opening her eyes to look at a tall and handsome young man. How did she know that he was her brother? She simply knew. She sensed, or rather felt, a unique bond with him.

“I am David.”

“You are my brother”, said Emily without a moment’s hesitation. Then she heard an angelic voice speak to her.

“He is named after his grandfather,” said Lanisha in a sweet and gentle voice. “Solomon, the Story Teller, the man who killed you, is his father. I am Lanisha. I am David’s mother, and his Guardian Angel.”

“Where is my mother?” asked Emily. “Where is Morgana?”

“Your mother is in Elysium, with Solomon. They have dreamed the Dream of Dreams. They have sung the Song of Songs. They can return to this world, forever no more. They can speak neither to you nor David, forever no more,” said Lanisha.

“I have dreamed the Dream of Dreams also,” said Emily. “Why am I still here? How is that possible?”

“You did not sing your Death Song, Emily. You and David must go on a quest to save the world. If you fail, Alicia the Sorceress and her demons from the Underworld will rule the world. There will be no more light, forever no more. Everything will be darkness, forever no more.”

“I already defeated Alicia,” said David, interrupting his mother. “Where she is at now, she can do no harm.”

 Lanisha turned to David and stared at him. For a brief second, she could feel his pride. He was brave, and he had learned his stories well. She smiled, and then said, “You have not defeated Alicia. She has sent Morgana and Solomon to Elysium. From Elysium, they can never return. From the Underworld, Alicia will return. Nothing, and nobody, will be able to stop her from returning.”

David nodded his head as his mother’s words sunk in. Alicia’s “defeat” had been too easy, much too easy. She had taken advantage of him and Solomon. She had used their human emotion against them. The love that father and son felt for each other had been their undoing.

“No, David,” said Lanisha quickly. “Do not think of love as a human weakness to be avoided. Solomon’s love for me caused him to kill Morgana and Emily. His life was lived loving me, and when he thought I had betrayed his love, he could only think of revenge. Alicia tricked him. When he realized it, it was too late. His love for you is why he sacrificed his life. He thought Alicia was trapped inside of him, and that she would die with him when you killed him. He was wrong.”

There was silence between the three of them. Emily, David and Lanisha said nothing for a long while. In the slowly gathering dusk, an icy cold wind blew from the north. A steady, drizzling rain began to fall. The darkness of the night would soon be complete. Yet the silence remained unbroken.

At long last, Emily spoke. “Solomon killed my mother, and he killed me. I am alive because Solomon took pity on me. He knew if I didn’t sing, I could not leave this world.”

“I killed Solomon while Alicia was trapped inside of him,” said David. “He regretted all of the evil he had done in the name of love. He died for love, and that is why he is in Elysium now. Alicia regretted nothing. She is so evil that she would never be allowed to set one foot inside of Elysium. And in the Underworld, she is the most powerful of all. No demon, no dragon, no monster, no man could ever keep her down there.”

“And now,” said Lanisha, “Emily and you are the only people who can stop her. You must go on a quest to find the Holy Grail.”

“Why must we go on a quest?” asked Emily.

“Close your eyes, both of you,” said Lanisha. “Tell me what you see.”

Emily laughed. “Nothing,” she said immediately. “My eyes are closed.”

“What about you David? What can you see?” asked Lanisha.

“I can see Alicia. The sorceress is here with us. The wind is from the North. Alicia rides the wind on the back of a dragon. It is cold because Alicia is cold. The rain has begun again. Mother Earth cries tears of sadness to know Alicia has not been destroyed. The night is dark. Where Alicia goes, no light can penetrate. Though her physical body is still in the Underworld, her spirit already travels the Earth, and she has found me here, in Valencia.”

“Exactly,” said Alicia. “Solomon has taught you well David. Alicia will come again, to this place, to battle with you once again. And this time you must face her all alone. If she defeats you, Emily will be Earth’s only hope.”

“I don’t understand,” said Emily. “I can help David. We can fight together. I will not leave my brother.”

David took Emily’s hand in his and looked in her eyes. He was touched by her words. All his life, he had lived with Solomon. Lanisha visited him in his dreams to talk to him. There had never been anyone else. “And now he had a sister!” he thought to himself.

Lanisha spoke. “You and David must go on a quest, Emily. David will visit your dreams, to guide you, and to help you. He will tell you his stories. Here in Valencia is his battlefield, where he must fight Alicia once again.”

“So what am I looking for?” asked Emily quickly.

“Emily, you are looking for the only thing that can defeat Alicia. You are looking for the Holy Grail, the blood of Jesus Christ,” said Alicia in a hushed, almost whispered voice. Looking around her, she continued. “Legend has it that at the Last Supper, Jesus consecrated his blood in a chalice, a special cup with two handles. It is made of tin, quite common in appearance. That cup was then used by Joseph of Arimathea to collect the blood and water which was spilled when the body of Jesus was washed.”

“Wait a minute,” interrupted David. “You mean to tell me that I can’t defeat Alicia? If the Holy Grail is the only thing that can defeat Alicia, what am I doing, waiting here, to fight her, if I can’t defeat her?”

“David, you can not win alone. Emily can not win alone. Morgana could not win alone. Solomon could not win alone. I could not win alone. The Story Tellers, we all separated across the centuries of time; past, present, and future. It was the only way to keep the world safe while we searched for the Holy Grail. And one by one, we all ran out of time.”

“Now I understand. By staying here, and fighting Alicia, Emily will have more time to search for the Holy Grail,” said David. “It does not matter what happens here. What is important is for Emily to have the time she needs to find the Holy Grail. That is the only way the Earth can be saved.”

“Yes,” said Lanisha.

“Tell me more about the Holy Grail,” said Emily, all the while holding her brother’s hand. “What is it? How will I find it? Is David going to die?”

“David must atone for the sins of his father. He must fight the battle that Solomon didn’t fight. He must fight Alicia to the death. But his death only happens if you do not find the Grail,” Alicia explained.

“The Grail. You were going to tell me about the Grail,” said Emily with a hint of urgency in her voice. She knew there was no time to waste.

Lanisha looked up into the dark sky. She had little time left, not enough time to tell the story of the Holy Grail to Emily. Already Alicia was on her way here. And soon David would be alone. Looking at the fear in Emily’s eyes, Lanisha said to her, “We are going to have to wing it. I will take you on my wings to where your quest begins. David, you must prepare your mind and your heart for battle. Always remember, there is power in your stories. Your stories are life itself. All that ever was, all that is, and all that ever will be, is contained in your stories. You have been prepared by the greatest Story Teller of all time for this battle, in this place, in this moment. For me, your mother, it is left only to tell you what you do not know yet; the future:

A fronte praecipitium a tergo lupi.”

“A precipice in front, wolves behind,” said David, translating the Latin.

“ Abyssus abyssum invocat.”

“Hell calls hell,” said David.

“Eram quod es, eris quod sum.”

“I was what you are, you will be what I am,” repeated David.

“Bibere venenum in auro.”

“Drink poison from a cup of gold,” said David.

“Omnia mors aequat.”

“Death makes all things equal,” said David.

“Non est ad astra mollis e teris via.”

“There is no easy way from the Earth to the stars,” said David.

“Facilis descensus averno.”

“The descent to Hell is easy,” said David.

“Aeternum vale.”

“Farewell forever,” said David.

And with those words, David found himself all alone. Lanisha and Emily were gone. They had vanished right before his very eyes. He had known that Lanisha had spoken to him in Angelic, the language of angels. She had given him a secret message about his future, and she wanted nobody but David to know. He sat down on the cave floor, to reflect on what Alicia’s secret message might possibly mean for his future.

Chapter 2 == Click

DRAGONS & DEMONS & DREAMS == Click

“Where are we?” asked Emily.

“Glastonbury,” said Lanisha.

“Is the Holy Grail here?”, asked Emily.

“It used to be. Joseph brought it here. It was guarded by the Templars. In the time in which they were the guardians of the Holy Grail, the quest for the Holy Grail was the highest spiritual act a person could do. You see, the quest for the Holy Grail is to seek direct communion with God.”

“Did anyone ever find the Grail?” asked Emily.

“Perceval found it. So did Galahad. In time, nobody knows exactly when, the Holy Grail was transformed into a precious stone. It was guarded by the Angels. I was one of the Angels who guarded the Holy Grail. Every year, on Good Friday, a dove would come down from heaven. A host would be placed on the stone. And that person would no longer have any need for food or drink. Strength, beauty, charm and grace would be in abundance. Youth, health, and vitality would be restored. It was the fountain of youth. You would be young for all of eternity.”

“Immortal,” said Emily.

“Every now and then, from time to time, a name would appear written on the stone. That person, if he or she had a pure heart, would become a Story Teller. With immortality, the Story Tellers could record the history of the world from the beginning of time to the present date. One by one, we were called to witness our names written on the stone. Until one day the name of Alicia appeared written on the stone. But when she touched it, it burned her immediately, because her heart was not pure. She wanted the power of the stone to serve her evil desire to rule the world. The very Earth itself rebelled against Alicia. The bowels of the Earth opened and swallowed up the stone.”

Emily had been listening intently to Lanisha’s story. She now understood the past. Emily said, “The stone could not be possessed by an evil person. As long as there was a Story Teller with a pure heart, Alicia could never use the stone’s power. But if Alicia was the only Story Teller alive, she would then be the only person who could use the power of the stone. In Alicia’s case, the stone would pass from light into darkness.”

“Correct,” said Lanisha. “But there is more. David is no match for Alicia. She will destroy him. And when she does, she will be the last Story Teller on Earth.”

“No,” said Emily. “You forgot about me.”

“I didn’t forget you,” said Lanisha. “We don’t know for sure if you are, or aren’t, a Story Teller. No one knows who, or what, you are. Not even Morgana and Solomon. Morgana is Solomon’s sister. They found you in a cave near their ancestral home in Jerusalem. You were in a basket and a red, seven-headed dragon stood guarding you. As they approached the dragon, the seven heads spoke to them. The dragon asked them, in Gaelic, if they were a dream or a demon. Morgana said “Demon” and Solomon said, “Dream.” Upon hearing this, the great dragon flew away, leaving you behind. Since Morgana had no children of her own, she raised you.”

Emily asked, “Who am I? Where did I come from?”

“Nobody knows, Emily. Nobody. But Alicia thinks that you are a Story Teller. She won’t dare to touch the stone until you are dead,” said Lanisha.

“So that means that I must find the stone before Alicia finds me,” said Emily. “Do you know where the stone is?”

“There are three places where it could be. In Jerusalem, in Genoa, or in Valencia. Legend has it that it was taken out of Jerusalem in the 7th century. It was seen in Genoa, in the Cathedral of San Lorenzo. And it disappeared again, until recently. It was seen in Valencia Cathedral. Which place do you think is the most likely location of the stone?” asked Lanisha.

“Neither one of the three,” answered Emily, shaking her head. “First, you have brought me to Glastonbury. Second, the great dragon must know where the stone is. Dream or demon? Neither one nor the other. Dragon, demon and dream are one. The dragon has the stone.”

“How do you know that?” asked Lanisha.

“Because the dragon didn’t kill Morgana or Solomon. Only one of the two answers could have been correct, but nobody was killed. They were both wrong because they didn’t consider a third possibility. So where would a dragon keep a stone so powerful that it can rule the world?” asked Emily.

“Two places,” said Lanisha. “Either the deepest ocean, or the highest mountain. And if I were a seven-headed dragon, with a big secret to guard, I would fly to the top of the highest mountain to hide my treasure.”

“Seven-headed dragons have to eat. But would it dare leave its treasure unguarded, while it goes hunting for food? No, not even for a moment. So, there are two dragons,” Emily deduced. “And where did I come from? The dragon killed my mother, and then took pity on me, since I was only a baby. The hunter dragon is a mother dragon, with children of her own. The male dragon guards the place where the Holy Grail is kept.”

“Emily, you do realize that you have nothing to base your ideas on. But if the Holy Grail was in Genoa, Jerusalem, or in Valencia, it would have been discovered a long time ago. And even if we knew the place where the Holy Grail is hidden, you would first have to climb the highest mountain or swim the deepest ocean. Everest is the highest mountain in the world. On that mountain it is extremely cold. And the air is very thin,” said Lanisha with a smile. “No demon and no dream could hope to live very long in such a place. Only a dragon could survive under such extreme low temperatures. Same thing is true for the deepest ocean.”

“That means the Earth is safe, and I’m a hero,” said Emily. “Can we help David fight Alicia now? I don’t want him to die.”

“It is too late for David,” said Lanisha slowly. “We can’t help him. We have our own problem to solve. Have you ever heard of Mauna Kea? Or Chimborazo? They are both very high mountains. Each has a unique claim to being the highest mountain in the world. Everest wins if you consider sea level as the starting point. Mauna Kea wins if you measure from the base upward. Chimborazo wins if you measure from the center of the Earth. You have to get the stone, and when you have it, let’s hope that your heart is pure. If it is not, the stone will destroy you when you touch it.”

“But if Alicia touches the stone after David is dead, she will rule the world. We don’t have a choice. I’ve got to try because if I don’t, this world will change completely,” said Emily. “I must find the stone.”

“Not so fast, Emily. You need a plan,” said Lanisha. “It will do no good to die of cold, or to be killed by a dragon. No doubt there are a pair of dragons guarding the stone night and day. And they probably have had some baby dragons by now. So, there is a family of red, seven-headed dragons. And all of them are in on the family business, guarding the Holy Grail. I must say that I don’t fancy your chances to find the stone.”

“There is another way,” said Emily. “We can have the dragon come to us. We know they once were in the habit of spending time near Jerusalem.”

“And what bait are you going to use? Why would the dragons want to come to Jerusalem?”

“Because we have something they want,” said Emily. “We have a member of their family. Me.”

“Emily, I must tell you a story, before I leave you. Your quest begins here, in Glastonbury. The ancient legends tell us that a woman appeared in Glastonbury. She had a crown of twelve stars on her head. The dress she wore was the Sun. The shoes on her feet was the Moon. She was pregnant, and she was about to have her baby. A huge, red, seven-headed dragon appeared and took her baby away as soon as it was born. Nobody knows if the baby was a boy, or a girl. The dragon was never seen again. The story of your birth, Emily, repeats the ancient legend. Nobody knows if you are a demon, a dragon, or a dream. Even you don’t know who, or what, you are. It was decided long ago by the Story Tellers to take our chances with you. We know the evil in Alicia’s heart. Your heart is a mystery to the world. You are 18 now. Forget the dragons. They have forgotten you. They will never come to Jerusalem looking for you. Not in a thousand years,” said Lanisha. “Here in Glastonbury is where you must seek the stone.”

“But Lanisha, the dragon father would have killed me and my mother in the forest when I was born. But the mother dragon has maternal instincts. Her actions helped save my life. She will come looking for me.”

“Where?” asked Lanisha.

“She will find me near the sea,” said Emily.

“No. Emily, your destiny is right here in Glastonbury. It is a sacred place, full of powerful cosmic energy. At night, just look into the heavens above you. The stars will whisper your name if you have an ear to hear. The moon will guide your feet to any place your heart desires. The wind will always be warm and gentle on your face. The west winds will whistle joyful songs to your soul. Every day, the sun will caress your skin and you will radiate beauty and vitality. In Glastonbury, time stands still. A moment feels like eternity in this place. A day feels like but a second has passed. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” said Emily.

“If there is a Holy Grail, be it chalice or be it stone, you will find it here. You must look in every nook and cranny, under every leaf and every rock, in every bush and every tree, under every blade of grass and in every thing you see, touch, or feel in this place. The Holy Grail is here! We know it is here. It can be no other place but here! We have been here many times to seek the stone. We have felt its presence. But only the Chosen One will the stone reveal itself to. You must find it Emily, and you must find it before Alicia gets here. Your quest is to save the world. Can you save this world?”

“Yes, I can do it,” said Emily with quiet determination. “I can do it.”

“David, Morgana, and Solomon, have all sacrificed their lives to give you time alone here. It is now my time to join Morgana and Solomon in Elysium. David will fight to the death to give you all the time he can. But ultimately, Emily, you will decide the fate of Earth. You must defeat Alicia in battle, or Earth as we know it will be destroyed, forever no more to be as we now see it. Use your time wisely Emily. Carpe diem. Seize the day! Carpe noctem. Seize the night! Make the most of your time. Hannibal ad portas! Hannibal is at the gates!