King of a Thousand
Years:
Being Mrs Victoria Salmalin's
transcript of the events at the Crossroads
The Lords of the Five Quarters, Lady Cowperthwaite, Mr O'Flaherty,
Captain Sparrow, Captain Nemo, and Miss Moriarty were transported to
the Crossroads on the Mysterious Island.
The Five Horsemen stood, each upon his road with the Celestial Maiden,
and the Sun, Moon, and Earth goddesses at the centre of the Crossroads.
Five Eastern Dragons, incarnations of the five winds, arrived each
landing behind one of the Lords. First to arrive was the North
Wind cold and fierce, he settled behind Captain Sparrow. Second
to arrive was the South wind, bright as the sun. He landed behind
Mr O'Flaherty. Third to arrive was the East Wind, patient
and wise, he landed behind Captain Nemo. Fourth to arrive
was the West wind, ruthless and impatient. He landed behind Miss
Moriarty. Last to arrive was the fifth wind, unfettered and
forgotten. He landed behind Lady Cowperthwaite.
A heavenly light shone upon the assembled company and beautiful music
sounded as the Angel Clothéd All in White appeared in the center
and set his Iron Book upon a pedestal of air. “So do we have
every one here? “ he said. “Lords, Winds, Maiden, Gods... oh no
we are missing all sorts of people. Have the Riders appeared?”
A boy riding a powered cycle of some sort appeared from the glittering
desert of the South with a rider who looked a great deal like Edward at
age nine. “Radical Edward here!” he said.
The Angel acknowledged his arrival. “Lord Jokar Frak of the
Courts of Chaos, welcome.”
A golden chariot pulled by clockwork horses drew up from the bright
forest of the North. A china doll looking much like a 9-year-old
Wilhelmina emerged from the carriage. She said, “ I surely hope I
have not caused anyone inconvenience by my slight tardiness.”
The Angel said, “Lady Goldana representative of the Lords of Order,
welcome.”
Mr O'Flaherty leaned over to Miss Moriarty and said, “So, you're
ganging up on us.”
From the Shadowed forest of the East a sleigh drawn by giant wolves
appeared and the Angel welcomed Queen Jada of the Courts of
Shadow. The Queen wore a glittering ice white gown with a crown
of ice twined in her golden braids.
Swooping down from the West was a golden lion. Upon landing he
was welcomed as Archpontifex Ajazel of the Lords of Light.
From all directions and none a creature made of wings and eyes emerged
and was greeted as Duke Zednull of the Keepers of the Axes.
“Time for tea and cakes?” Miss Moriarty asked.
From behind her, Queen Titania of Faery was announced by one of
her own courtiers. Her court began to set up tents and a
banquet table.
Oberon of Faery appeared. “I thought you weren't coming,” he said to Titania.
“Please spare us a display of domestic squabbles,” said a
creature. He appeared to be the very form of a devil, with a red
body and great horns curling back from his head.
Titania ignored the newcomer. “It would be a shame to miss the
last one of these gatherings.”
“Presumably each of these councils have the potential to be that last,”
the Angel interjected, forestalling further argument.
“I would have thought that Queen Jada would have been sufficient
representation for your side,” the Lion said to the Red Devil.
Various parties talked over each other discussing sides.
Kali and Shiva both manifested themselves through Lady Cowperthwaite,
attracting the attention of the Gathering. Herne followed suit by
manifesting through Mr O'Flaherty, but grumbled about using avatars.
A female shape formed behind Captain Sparrow (apparently much to his
relief) and was welcomed as the Sea Goddess. A second female form
appeared with the sound of rattling dice.
“And the Lady as well,” the Angel said. “All right, then we are
ready to begin. Miss Moriarty, relentless pursuer of knowledge,
Keeper of the Book of Annihilation, Captain Will Sparrow, who dares all
for the opportune moment, Guardian of the Path of Destiny, Mr
O'Flaherty, whose strength of body is only exceeded by the greatness of
his heart, Bearer of the Shield of Prophecy, Captain Nemo, who
anonymously moves through the ever-moving, Custodian of the Star of
Victory, and Lady Cowperthwaite, who breaks everything except her word,
Wielder of the Sword of Sovereignty, Lords of the Five Quarters,
welcome.
“Also present at this Gathering are the five horsemen. Pestilence, who
spreads disease to all, Famine, who spreads hunger through the world,
War, bringer of destruction, Havoc, who scours the world with his sword
of ice, and Death, who comes for both the unjust and the just.
“[rude word omitted], does he have to be here all the time?” Pestilence
asked of Havoc.
“His wife is quite nice,” War commented, nodding to Mrs Voach, the
Celestial Maiden.
“It is in the Contract,” Death intoned.
“If all are gathered, I suppose we could get down to...” the Angel
started to say.
“In addition to Havoc being here after he has been removed from the
Iron Book, “ the Adversary (the red devil creature) said, interrupting
the Angel. “The Celestial Maiden has a vested interest in the
outcome of this Contest, as her daughter stands at the Crossroads. I
object to this.”
The Angel Clothéd in white looked through the Iron pages
of his book.
The representative of Order spoke. “There is nothing in the
rules that all parties must be impartial.
The Angel looked up from his book. “Indeed, there is nothing in
the Book to prevent such a thing.”
“We also wish to protest.” The West Wind said. “It has not
yet been a thousand years.”
“Oh yes,” the Angel said. “I meant to answer that question
earlier.” He indicated the West Wind. “He is the current
King of a Thousand Years.”
“It is a metaphorical 'Thousand Years,'” the East Wind said to the West
Wind. “How many times must that be explained to you?”
“East and West have had it long enough between them.” the North Wind
grumbled.
“Am I your Champion?” Lady Cowperthwaite asked the Fifth Wind.
“You could be,'' he answered.
At this point Lady Cowperthwaite asked if there could be a Council,
rather than a single King. There was vigorous discussion of the
point and while it not clear if any answer was give to her original
question it did become clear that the Lords of the Five Quarters were
being asked to choose between the five Winds.
“I'm just glad it's not going to be one of us.” Mr O'Flaherty said.
“Why do they need us, if they are just primordial forces following
their natures?” Captain Nemo asked, speaking up for the first time in
the Gathering.
“I think they are just in need of validation,” Lady Cowperthwaite
answered.
Mr O'Flaherty called upon the Shield to give him a vision of the future
depending on which Wind is chosen. When he emerged from the
vision he said, “I don't know about you, but I'm voting for that one,”
and pointed to the Fifth Wind.
The representative of Order said, “But he has practically erased
himself. We need more order.”
Mr O'Flaherty said, “There's order and there is order.” He turned
to the Fifth Wind and asked, “What would you do if you were the King of
a Thousand Years?”
The Wind answered: “The unfettered heart chooses its own fate.”
The representative of Chaos said: “Edward like plan! Everyone gets
vote! Everyone be free!”
Mr O'Flaherty asked the Shield: “If it were to end today, how would it
end?”
The mirror turned grey in response.
The representative of Order tried to convince Miss Moriarty that the
universe can run with the precision of clockwork and that more order is
needed. “The universe is far less aligned than you think.”
she concluded.
“A little wildness is a good thing,” interjected the Great Lion,
representative of the Lords of Light. “So far, the West has been
most congenial to choice.”
“Which of the Winds has never been king?” Captain Sparrow asked.
The Angel looks through his book again. “The Fifth Wind.”
“So, it is unknown if the Fifth Wind would also be congenial to our
power of choice,” Captain Nemo said.
“That is the case,” the Great Lion answered.
Captain Sparrow bowed to Mr O'Flaherty. “I think our good friend
Mr O'Flaherty has the right of it and it is time to tilt the axis in
another direction.”
Miss Moriarty asked Professor Oddbody, in his capacity as the Book of
Annihilation, “What would happen if we chose the Fifth Wind?”
He answered: “Those pages are blank.”
“What if we choose one of the others?”
“If you chose North, South, East, or West I would have much wonderful
destruction to attend to,” was all we heard before Professor Oddbody
covered his mouth and seemed to wrestle it back under his own
control. “I told you it was a bad book!” he said in his own voice.
“Who enforces our decision once it is made?” Captain Nemo asked.
The Angel answered: “The forces all tilt that way, once the decision is
made. As your teacher must have told you, much like deciding
which way is up and down, once it is decided, it is clear to one
and all.”
“It has been a very long time since you've had a schoolmaster.” Nemo
commented. “What happens after we choose? Do we go back to
our own lives? Do we remain Champions?”
“There is certainly someone waiting to take up the Star,” Oberon
said, “And he is closer than you think.”
“If you wish to walk away from the decision,” Titania said “someone
will take up your place.”
“No one is walking away!” Queen Jada said sternly. “The circle
has been called. I think we should persuade the Celestial Maiden
that the those of you who have chosen the Fifth Wind have chosen
poorly.”
Lady Cowperthwaite began arguing with Queen Jada at this point-- trying
to find out Jada's interest in this Gathering. That segued into a
discussion of the rights and obligations of the Lords of the Five
Quarters.
Mr O'Flaherty made himself heard above the din to declare himself a
Champion for the Fifth Wind. There was further discussion as to
if a Wind can have more than one Champion and the Angel consults
the Iron Book again.
The Angel announces that the word for Champion in the Book could be
either singular or plural, so there is no limit on the number of
Champions who can declare for a particular Wind.
Lady Cowperthwaite says that she is still in favor of a Council, but if
she has to choose a direction she picks the Fifth Wind.
The representative of Order expressed concern that the world will fall
apart if no direction is chosen, adding “Do you want the gods to keep
meddling in people's lives?”
“Yes,” Mr O'Flaherty answered pointedly. “In their lives.
Order continued: “But they are disruptive and make things not
make sense. I thought you liked things to make sense-- you
like being in control don't you?”
“Some times to continue, we must be chaotic,” Mr O'Flaherty answered.
The representative of Order turns away in defeat and briefly becomes a
small, shapeless, grey-robed form before returning to the China Doll
Wilhelmina form.
Miss Moriarty asked Mrs Voach if she thinks everyone has voted their
hearts.
The Adversary claims that Mr O'Flaherty has not, as he is a Formerain
and, as such, belongs to the Adversary's court.
[The transcript is unreadable at this point, as Mrs Salmalin was busy
yelling at the scrying, telling Mr O'Flaherty not to believe the
Adversary's claims.]
Oberon broke in to ask if Mr O'Flaherty felt threatened by the
Adversary's claims.
“Maybe...” Mr O'Flaherty said.
“I'm trying to determine if the Adversary has broken the Compact,”
Oberon said.
“I deny you and defy you,” Mr O'Flaherty said to the Adversary [causing
much cheering back on the ship].
“If we cannot have the Council,” Captain Nemo said. “Then I think
we should have the Fifth Wind.”
“It seems the Lords of the Five Quarters have Spoken,” the Angel
said. “Does the Celestial Maiden wish to counter their choice?”
“People should be able to go their own way,” Mrs Voach said simply.
“Then all that is left is for the King of a Thousand Years to choose a
Champion,” the Angel said after looking at his book.
“But that would be imposing my will,” said the Fifth Wind. “It
seems that some have expressed a willingness to be my Champion. I
will have them.”
The Angel turned to the penultimate page in his book. “And now
the Five Horsemen are supposed to Ride Out, but if there is to be no
conquest how can they Ride Out?”
“We came all this way for nothing?” Famine complained.
“It says we have to Ride Out,” Death said. “It does not say
against who.”
The Angel turned to the last page in the book. “Now each of the
Champions may claim a boon of the King of a Thousand Years.” He
looked more closely at the book. “That's odd, it didn't say
'each' before.”
Miss Moriarty was the first to approach the Fifth Wind. Bringing
Mr Oddbody with her, she asked if the King could find a place for the
Book in his Library. A rectangle of light appeared and the
Professor's face broke into a smile as he peered into the light.
“You have a first edition....” he said as he stepped into the light and
vanished.
Mr O'Flaherty came next. He pulled out the sword of Wu
Chang. “There are eight water spirits attached to this
sword. Have they found their river once more?”
“There are many rivers in need of a guardian and they have found one,”
the King answered.
“Then free them all,” Mr O'Flaherty asked. The King nodded and
the sword crumbled to dust.
Captain Nemo asked that all of the people under his protection be
allowed to live their lives free. The King agreed.
Lady Cowperthwaite asked for the ability to protect the people
that she she holds dear. The King said, “It is a power you
already have, but you will remain free to use it and learn.”
Captain Sparrow approached the King last. “I want you to
move the Island so that only I can find it.”
“With the exception of those native to it, I grant your boon.”
“We must take the artifacts and hide them again,” Pestilence said.
Havoc responded that his family had already dealt with one of the
artifacts so he would take the Champions home.
Lady Cowperthwaite, Mr O'Flaherty, Captain Sparrow, Captain Nemo, and
Miss Moriarty all climbed into his chariot and disappeared from
the island.
With that, the vision ended.
Proceed to Message
from the Dark Mother
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Contents this page copyright 2007 by Kristin Fontaine. All Rights Reserved.