A Change In The Weather

Chapter 16: The ivory flute

10 January, 2008 – 9:12 am

They traveled through the wood for what seemed an age until at last they came to an old rambling red brick wall that stood about six feet tall. It curved around in a wide arc enclosing a part of the wood that was different from the rest.

Parts of the wall had long ago deteriorated and collapsed, but the majority of the structure remained, overgrown with weeds, briars, bracken and mosses. The trees inside the wall seemed to be packed denser together as if hiding whatever it was that lay at the centre.

Scarlet looked at the wall in bewilderment.

‘What’s this wall doing here?’ she said. ‘It’s almost as if it doesn’t belong somehow.’

‘Yes, that’s right.’ said Eliza breathlessly, who looked as though she was struggling to keep up. ‘It was built a long time ago to protect the barrow in the centre of the wood, but now it’s useless. Back then the wood had more visitors than it does now though. And not just visitors from the village, if you know what I mean.’

Tobias’ ears pricked up.

‘A barrow? A man-made burial place in the wood?’ said Tobias, flattening out the creases in his ordnance survey map and staring at it. ‘Doesn’t appear to be on the map though…’ he muttered.

‘I doubt it would appear anywhere on a map like that,’ scoffed Hillary.

Tobias nodded, and then he suddenly remembered something.

‘This wouldn’t be where the dragon bones are buried would it?’ he blurted, suddenly very interested.

Hillary stopped in his tracks.

‘What? Good heavens no. Wherever did you hear that claptrap?’

Tobias considered answering, and then thought better of it. He felt like it was a stupid question to ask anyway and instantly regretted it. Of-course there weren’t any dragon bones buried in the wood.

‘And by the way Tobias,’ continued Hillary, ‘no man ever made this barrow.’

Tobias’ frowned.

‘I don’t understand - a barrow is a man-made burial mound. What’s it got buried in it then?’ he said.

‘Oh you’ll see eventually.’

Tobias nodded with uncertainty, but his imagination had been sparked now, and he patted around in his coat pocket for the digital video camera and dictaphone that he’d placed there this morning. Good, they were still there.

Hillary clambered over the brick rubble and into the heart of the enclosure.

Wendle jumped over the brambles after him, followed by the rest.

 

 

* * * * *

From the cover of the deep wood the goblins spied on them.

Toadflax, who had been shadowing them every step of the way since the Windmill, growled quietly to himself and hopped behind some trees and bushes. After a while, he opened a small black velvet bag and took out some of the contents and sprinkled them liberally over himself. The powder briefly fizzled and sparkled.

The rest of the goblins did the same.

Grinning with razor-sharp teeth, they silently ran out across the path and through a collapsed part of the redbrick wall, into the dark of the wood, their wickedly curved swords trailing behind them…

 

 

* * * * *

As Tobias followed Hillary through the wood, he allowed his mind to drift back to somewhere that was now all but a dim and distant memory…

—-

He turned around slowly and dropped his ball.

Then he screamed.

The image would burn itself into his mind forever.

It was as if it had appeared from nowhere.

There, towering over him, was a vast dragon. Certainly it seemed for all the world like a dragon. Indeed, what else could it have been? He’d seen pictures of them before in books but no book could prepare him for the powerful creature standing before him. Its scaly body reflected sunlight in miniature rainbow colours as it curled its long serpent-like tail around the trees. Its black leathery wings were folded flat against its body, and its claws looked terribly sharp.

It craned its head forward towards him.

Tobias tried to scream again, but nothing came out.

Instead he wet himself.

‘Do not be afraid.’ the Dragon said gently, in a human-like voice.

Terrified, Tobias picked his ball up.

—-

‘Tobias?’

Tobias shook his head to wake himself from his daydream, and looked down at Scarlet, who was tugging at his shirtsleeve.

‘I’m sorry,’ he said, absently. ‘Yes?’

Scarlet looked up at him.

‘I was just thinking,’ she said. ‘Have you ever seen a dragon before?’

Tobias thought about it before finally shaking his head.

‘No.’ he said, too quickly. ‘At one point I thought I did a long time ago, but it was just a dream I had. Maybe I wanted to believe so badly that I made myself imagine it.’

Scarlet tugged at his sleeve again. He looked down once more, but this time she just pointed into the distance and the glade ahead.

‘So what’s that then?’

Tobias moved his eyes in the direction she was pointing.

‘Good grief…’ he muttered.

The first thing that Tobias noticed before he fainted, was the large object on top of Bracken Barrow.

Up ahead, idly flicking its tail in the air, swishing it one way then the other, basking in the glorious spring sunshine, was something that looked like a dragon…

 

 

* * * * *

 

‘Tobias! Wake up! There’s someone here who wants to say hello…’

Tobias opened his eyes slowly.

‘I’m sorry about that. I don’t know what came over me. My God, for one moment there, I thought I’d seen a dragon…’ he said, laughing nervously.

He stood up and looked directly at Torfang, who smiled displaying two huge rows of razor-sharp teeth.

‘Pleased to meet you Tobias.’ he said. ‘I seem to recall meeting you some time ago when you were just a small child. I sincerely hope you’ve not forgotten me…’

Tobias was speechless, and stood there trying to make sense of it all. He looked puzzled, and then finally spoke.

‘But… all those years ago… I was right… You did exist…’

Torfang gave out a deafening roar of laughter, which forced Tobias to cover his ears with his hands.

‘My dear Tobias, you must learn to trust your own eyes. Take a look around. Magic exists. Faeries exist. Goblins exist. And I exist. Can you not feel it in your bones? It is to mankind’s eternal shame that they choose to ignore them, but it is to your credit that you choose to believe, even though, at times, you are lead more by your head and science than your heart and magic.’

‘Torfang is a Fire Drake,’ added Hillary. ‘The last great dragon in the world in fact.’

Scarlet looked sad.

‘The last?’ she said. ‘How can you be certain?’

‘There may be others hiding undiscovered in places around the world. Who knows? If they are, they have thus far remained sadly silent.’

Torfang turned to the children.

‘And these are the children you’ve told me so much about? I see they’ve been given the Levitonite rings. So, Eliza’s prophecy is true. Can they use them?’

‘They know how to use them, yes.’ said Eliza, looking at Thomas. ‘Unfortunately Thomas has yet to appreciate self-control…’

The dragon turned to Hillary.

‘I see, then all that remains is to tell them about Talistay.’

Torfang ushered them all forward to sit down on the mossy grass in the bright sunshine before the barrow.

The whole area around it seemed to be full to bursting with a life of its own, a presence that could not be ignored. Flowers bloomed, butterflies fluttered and birds gathered together in the branches of the ancient trees almost as if they were eavesdropping on the meeting below.

Torfang began:

‘Many thousands of years ago, there was one world, and magic was widely used. Sadley, today that one world is now two. Something terrible happened and the lands that were once joined split and became separated. The land of Man – the earth that we stand on now, and the land of Faerie – the world beyond the barrier of reason and doubt, have been drifting slowly apart since then. Soon there will come a time when they will be irrevocably separated, and there will be no return. That day is fast approaching.

‘Once upon a time when the land was one, in the land of the Fay, a citadel was built on a great outcrop of black volcanic rock, and the place became a centre of learning and magic, and people came from all over the land of Faerie and the land of Man to visit it. It was called Talistay.

‘And then came the split which separated the worlds, and the species that had crossed over remained in their respective lands. The faeries that you saw in the wood made a home for themselves in this world, and likewise the same can be said for the men who remained in Faerie.

‘Talistay remained - a huge citadel built on a massive outcrop of black basalt overlooking the Sea of Storms.’

Scarlet and Thomas sat there cross-legged utterly fascinated and listening in total silence.

‘Talistay had a royal family that had traveled there from the land of Man and lived in the land of Faerie since the very beginning of the world split, and they had mastery over magic and nature, but at the same time they were to some extent also controlled by them. They were wise and powerful and kind and the people who lived there loved their King Artus and Queen Isolde.

‘To protect Talistay there were made four regiments of knights. Every year in a ceremony the knights who were entrusted to guard Talistay swapped their power with the next regiment. One of these regiments was called the Knights Brotherhood of the Fiery Brand and they were the most feared, trusted and loved of the Dragon Knights.

‘Their leader - a fierce knight called Remus - and his officers, Cyrus, Ursus and Titus, relinquished their allegiance to the royal family and made a secret pact with a rival for control of Talistay, in return for a treasure - two king-making stones - that were said to be hidden deep below the city.

‘Remus betrayed the royal family by letting his army access to the Eastern Gate – a vast drawbridge connecting Talistay with the land – and a terrible war ensued that resulted in the total devastation and abandonment of the city. A last stand was made at a place called Tinderwood Grove, and it was here that the end came finally for the royal family of Talistay.

‘In the end Talistay was taken by treachery.’

‘What happened next?’ asked Scarlet, her eyes wide-open in wonder.

Tobias who sat next to her was equally enthralled.

‘King Artus rode out on Stormduke - a great Fire Drake - and destroyed half of the invading army by raining down dragon fire, but a volley of arrows brought him crashing down in Tinderwood Grove – a small forest - where the king made a last stand with his speaking sword, Kaliburn.

‘After a long and bloody battle, surrounded by a band of loyal knights, the King was taken prisoner and the war, it seemed, was over. Sensing defeat, the Fire Drake Brindall flew the pregnant Queen to safety here in the world of Men. With foresight she took with her the Levitonite rings and the Ivory Flute, both royal relics from Talistay, in an attempt to keep alive the royal bloodline.

‘But this is not the end of the story, for Loreilance the last Sorcerer of Talistay thinking the royal family were all dead, laid a terrible curse on the four leaders of the Fiery Brand. As their bodies decayed, so their soul remained and they could never die. Instead they walked the land cursed as shades – undead souls constantly searching for a meaning to their existence and cursed to never find one.

‘As the years passed, the legend of Talistay dwindled in the memory of men until it was completely forgotten. Over time the appearance of the traitors grew hideous in the extreme and they crossed over to the world of Man as they sought to shy away from the gaze of people who would shun them as lepers. They traveled only at night, throughout the land, dressed as monks in cowls and robes so that their features would remain hidden.

‘In the thirteenth century they had four gold rings forged – one for each of the traitors - which had instilled in them the power of imitation and illusion. It is these rings that they use to this very day to hide their gruesome features.

‘Until recently, it was thought that they had been killed in Palestine during the crusades as they searched for an answer to end their curse, but it was discovered that they were captured by Seljuk Turks in Acre where they were tortured relentlessly and torn apart by the wrack and their dismembered bodies cast into a ditch on the outskirts of the city.’

Thomas gulped.

‘But they didn’t die though…’ he said.

‘Alas, it seems that they cannot die Thomas. For the magic of the curse is so strong that it does not allow them to die, even if they wished it.

‘It would seem that Archaeologists uncovered their remains fifty years ago.’

Tobias tutted. ‘Typical…’ he muttered.

‘It seems that the re-united bodies reanimated and the Fiery Brand continued their quest.’ said Torfang.

‘What happened to the Queen though?’ said Scarlet. ‘You said she rode off on a dragon, taking the royal relics with her.’

Torfang moved in closer to Scarlet and Thomas as they sat there in the brilliant sunshine.

‘Yes,’ he said, nodding slowly. ‘She landed near here, and gave birth to a son and carried on the royal line in secret. Brindall the Bearded lived here in Bracken Barrow before me, and he protected the last remnants of the royal line, before it was moved far from here for protection. Sadly, it seems that their identity became lost in time.’

Torfang moved closer and his voice turned to a whisper.

‘But it would seem providence prevailed and fate lent a hand. Call it predetermination. For whatever reason, it would seem that you returned to your ancestral roots here.’

He bowed his massive head.

‘For you two, it seems, are the heirs to the royal family of Talistay.’

Scarlet turned to look at Thomas and then back to Torfang.

‘What?!’ she cried incredulously. ‘But how can that be? What about mum and dad? Surely you should be talking to them and not us.’

‘Yes, and you would normally be correct, but it is too late for them, for they have reached an age where they are too old to believe in such things. It is known that when people reach a certain age they stop believing in certain things. It is a sad fact, but nevertheless true.’

‘But how can you be certain that we’re the ones?’ asked Scarlet.

‘When you put the rings on earlier,’ Hillary answered, ‘they altered themselves to fit your fingers. It was then that we were certain of who you were. They would not do that if you weren’t of the royal line.’

Scarlet looked at the ring on her finger.

‘So there is only one thing left to do now,’ said Hillary, ‘which is to give you the Ivory Flute.’

Torfang unfurled a claw. A white object dropped to the ground in front of Scarlet. It looked quite unremarkable.

Cautiously Scarlet took it and looked quizzically at Torfang.

‘A flute?’

‘It will allow the bearer to summon me whenever the need arises. Wherever you are, whatever you are doing, play the flute and I will appear. It is the last royal relic of Talistay.’

‘Queen Isolde used the Ivory Flute to summon Brindall to make her escape. She would not have survived had she not used it…’

 

* * * * *

Toadflax and his goblins waited silently in the deep wood next to the barrow with their swords drawn ready to attack.

The goblin king had overheard most things, and he couldn’t help but smile at the lovely irony of it all. Now it was his turn to eavesdrop, and hopefully slay them all in the process.

But the one thing he didn’t like, though, was the look of that big dragon resting on top of the barrow. It could turn the tide and he didn’t fancy fighting a well-built and powerful Fire Drake. No, he’d wait until the filthy humans were making their way back before attacking. Cut the dragon out of the equation, and the odds would tip back in his favour once more.

He congratulated himself, it was a far more sensible option.

 

* * * * *

 

‘So why are we so bothered about this Fiery Brand or whatever they’re called?’ said Scarlet. ‘Why is everyone so scared of them? They just sound like a bunch of nasty old men to me.’

Torfang lowered his head.

‘Because they are evil,’ he said. ‘They want to destroy magic. They want to break their curse, and this is the only way that they can do it. They are selfish and miserable and hate life. They want my egg, which is one of the three ingredients for the spell that they need. Can you imagine what the world would be like without magic in it?’

The children both considered this. Only a few days ago, they’d been blissfully ignorant about such things. If someone had asked them if they’d seen a faerie or a talking dog, they would have laughed off the idea as preposterous. But they’d always known deep down though that there was a longing to believe. It was present in every child, all over the world, just lurking there waiting to be discovered.

Thomas jumped up with a stern expression on his face.

‘So what do we do now then?’ he asked firmly.

The great dragon swished his tail about lazily in the air.

‘Well, that’s up to you now.’ he said airily, ‘I’m sure Hillary and Eliza have ideas. But really, your fate lies in your own hands. Of-course if you wanted to you could go home and forget all about this at anytime’

Scarlet and Thomas knew in their heart of hearts that they couldn’t go home and forget about any of this. As they thought about it, Torfang turned around and waddled off back to the barrow.

‘But I doubt you’d be able to’, he said finally. ‘It’s in your blood.’

As the children looked at him, he started to disappear from view, fading into the background as if by magic.

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