The Great Fairy Fire (213 – 214) – Whispers (Continued)

Inside a tomb-like room in a pyramidal structure resting upon a misted mountain top, Merlin the Great Wizard is concluding a protracted process restoring him to new life in new guise to fulfil prophecy overthrowing wicked Queen Morgana-Le-Faye. Still distant in deep dream, Merlin floats in a vat of gold inside a golden sarcophagus watched over by new companions assisting him back to life: Kingfisher, Halcyon, Great Heron, Andromeda and Creosote. Discussion has ensued concerning the forgotten history of Eons Bach and its astonishing connection to ancient Egypt but as the conversation draws to an end, Creosote has a suggestion to make.

Elsewhere inside a tomb-like room beneath a pyramidal structure resting upon a hill-top careful preparation is being made for ceremony…

~~~

~ The Great Fairy Fire (213) – Whispers (Continued) ~ By ~ Dewin Nefol ~

~

‘Twas an hour or two before Heron was through,

Before he’d finished his soliloquy.

Whereupon Creosote said, “why don’t we see:”

“Crack the lid take a peek,”

“A quick sneak at how Merlin’s doing?”

~

“Still brewing I suspect,” Halcyon said,

As Heron picked up Red Penny Red, and,

Began to write in his book.

“One look to check on Merlin: still twirling,

“Still swirling inside his dream?”

~

To either end of one golden cask,

Two gasped in their task of lifting:

Shifting the lid of said coffin,

Stopping only to catch quick breath

In air redolent with death.

~

“I hope they hurry reinstating Bast.”

“Delay much longer this stench will last, and,”

“Stain the tomb taint this room, else,”

“Gloom the bloom of gild and gold: when then shall we be,”

“Encased in a space dark and cold.”

~

“Be careful with the lid,” Heron said,

“Tis unfathomably old.”

“And pure,” remarked Halcyon,

Who knew how gold was rolled:

“Every mould every fold pukka in my opinion.”

~

“At first sight,” wrote Heron,

“I’m impressed by his gild,”

“Bright colour, right tincture,”

“Pores nicely filled: still breathing still dreaming, and,”

“Still warm I note not chilled.”

~*~

~ The Great Fairy Fire (214) – Whispers (Continued) ~ By ~ Dewin Nefol ~

~

One maid with braid lingered still,

Polishing statues atop the stairwell.

She’d long dispensed with birch besom broom,

 Had already dressed the bridal room:

Presented at its very best for Bast.

~

When then upon two other maids,

Arrived swiftly in procession.

Whilst one carried flowers ablaze with colour,

The other was in possession, of a key on a cushion

Cast from gold bullion fitting the topmost drawer.

~

Crossing the floor with dainty strides,

The phantom maid appeared to glide.

Until at rest by a chest at rest against a wall,

She climbed a stool inserted the key,

Turned the lock excitedly.

~

One drawer both doors of one cabinet:

An ebony case of grandiose size,

Let loose their ties sprung open wide,

All very much to the maid’s surprise.

“Bast has awoken!” She delightedly cried.

~*~

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The Great Fairy Fire (211 – 212) – Whispers

Morgana-Le-Faye’s arrival in Eons Bach has not gone un-noticed by those who dwell in the Great Bastion Mountains. The wicked Queen has come with swarms of evil-fairies to slay Merlin the Wizard before he returns to new life in new guise to lead prophecy foretelling of her overthrow. In so doing, Morgana and two rogue-Fey hastened their way towards a secret place located in the misty mountains where they struck bad luck after striking a rock-face and fell to freeze on the floor. Found by a Wolf, but too rancid to devour, their heinous frozen bodies were airlifted by birds to a mountain-top for sky-burial. Unfortunately for Camelot, but fortunately for Morgana and her two Fey, their bodies were frozen solid and could not be scattered in small pieces or ingested by carrion. As such they were deposited in an ice-cave to keep until next spring. In the meantime, Wolf continues with his day.

Elsewhere inside a pyramidal mountain, inside a tomb-like room where Merlin is returning to new life, the room’s current occupants, Kingfisher and Halcyon the Leprechaun, are joined by Andromeda the Swan, Creosote the Cat, and Great Heron, Scribe of the Book Of The Dead. In conversation with both Swan and Cat, Great Heron revealed something of the antiquated history of Eons Bach and whilst Merlin continues to dream in his vat of gold Heron continues to tell more…

~~~

~ The Great Fairy Fire (211) ~ Whispers ~ By ~ Dewin Nefol ~

~

Cloaked in weaves of evergreen trees,

Wearing spiralled peaks of ice and snow,

Wolf lolloped-on-and-on upon his path,

With nowhere to have to go: and so,

He flowed with the flow loping slow.

~

Yet he’d covered much ground since when he’d found,

Three frozen corpses at lofted height,

Each creature he met, each mammal, each bird,

With each he shared this curious sight:

Until all on his path had heard.

~

Such news encouraged loose lips and chatter,

Animals discussed whilst birds nattered:

Took delight in flight dispersing mystery,

From forest to glade, from plain to sea,

Words were heard with curiosity.

~

‘Twas then a snake-on-the-make dressed scaly black,

Befriended Rogue-Fey in Eons Bach: and,

With a serpents tongue quickly revealed,

Where to find three frozen-meals,

“Fresh rotting flesh, just thaw to squeal.”

~

Snake revealed news of three ice-bound:

“Found on the ground still feather-clad.”

“A vulture of impressive dimension.”

“Two other nasty things both had wings,”

“Did I mention they were both Rogue-Fey?”

~*~

~ The Great Fairy Fire (212) ~ Whispers (Continued) ~ By ~ Dewin Nefol ~

~

Leaving behind the emblazoned day,

Three comrades in arms squeezed their way,

Through stone passageways back to the tomb.

Where there in a room gilded with gold,

History was shared tales were told.

~

Whereupon Kingfisher duly declared,

“Truly unbelievable,” he aired.

Said Halcyon who also shared his view,

“No even the Stone knew that: but yet,”

“It explains this vat of old gold.”

~

“Bast left Egypt with her flotilla in tow,”

“Where stowed on-board her treasury:”

“Said-to-be 1000 pieces of vast weight.”

 “Straight to this land Bast made haste, with”

“Her gold-in-hold beneath full sail.”

~

Heron paused for breath, continued-on,

His cadence more song than lecture.

“When then Bast built her first structure,”

“To the east of Eons Bach: upon a hill,”

“Where light would spill to fill Ra’s Temple.”

~

“Her gold adorned this palatial place.”

“Its bloom honeyed this sacred space:”

“Would flash her eyes, gild her face,”

“In golden light she knew of grace:”

“She glowed within his sweet embrace.”

~*~

The Great Fairy Fire (210) – Sifted and Drifted (Continued)

Eons Bach bathes beneath a sun-filled sky whilst secreted away in far away mountains, Merlin the wizard is concluding a process restoring him to new life in new guise in preparation to lead a prophecy foretelling of Queen Morgana-Le-Faye’s overthrow and reclamation of Camelot. The Great Wizard is not alone in the tomb-like room in which he dreams inside a sarcophagus of gold for there with him is Kingfisher, Halycon the Leprechaun, and Great Heron, Scribe of Book of the Dead. Whilst Merlin is in deep sleep within a vat of alchemical gold, Great Heron took short respite outside of the pyramidal tomb to take-in fresh air. Here he was met by Andromeda the Swan and Creosote the Highway Cat who’d returned from investigating a tumbled-down ruin in nearby foothills: a ruin once dedicated to the Goddess Bast. Great Heron has welcomed their return and their questions concerning Bast and a curious frieze of Hermes, which encouraged the ancient Scribe to discuss Eons Bach’s antiquated history and most specifically its association with Egypt.

And so it is whilst Eons Bach warms beneath sunshine, whilst Merlin dreams a little dream, Great Heron reveals more about Eons Bach, the frieze of Hermes and the legend of Bast…

~~~

~ The Great Fairy Fire (210) – Sifted and Drifted (Continued) ~ By ~ Dewin Nefol ~

~

“Mercury?” Repeated the Highway Cat,

“The Winged Seer was here in Eons Bach?”

“Why yes indeed,” Great Heron said,

“He was Psychopompos of the Dead:”

“He who led Kings to eternal sleep.”

~

 “Bast’s reign ended in 665 A.D,”

“Her Kingdom stood empty for centuries.”

“When then after eons in 30 A.D,”

“Her Lands cried out, Ecce Romani!”

“Twas they who brought Lord Mercury!”

~

“But my dear Swan,” Heron continued-on,

“You’re not entirely wrong either:”

“Nor history you’ve read been in error.”

“Hermes was here also as Seer, also amongst the dead,”

“The great prophet Bast once wed.”

~

“Such scandal in Egypt caused outrage!”

“Bast was cast to the shadow land.”

“This her stage not her purgatory:”

“Indeed her story really begins here:”

“Where without fear she knew only love.”

~

“Beneath this mosaic, this tiled frieze,”

“Remains a depiction of prophetic Hermes:”

“But his despicable blasphemy sat ill-at-ease,”

“With foreign invaders with Roman armies.”

“Worshippers of Mithras and Mercury.”

~

“For an age they stayed tumbling stone,”

“Destroying the kingdom Bast knew as home.”

“Until one day when Druids arrived,”

“Reclaimed the Land beneath slate-skies:”

“With fight gave flight to Roman tribes.”

~

“Druids rebuilt this capping-stone,”

“It were they who wrote of Bast’s lost throne.”

“Who first discovered the Hall of Kings:”

“Protected this tomb in misted mountains: who,”

“Knew of Grim’s domain beneath the plane of Eons Bach.”

~

“Grim has always been here,” Heron said.

“Twas he who conjured Book Of The Dead.”

“I’ve no idea where he originated from: but,”

“The number of tomes is infinitely long: and Underworld,”

“An eternal place living on-and-on.”

~

“Despite Grim not being there?” Said the Cat,

“We’ve no longer a Reaper in Eons Bach.”

“Indeed,” replied Heron, “no-one is at the helm.”

“No-one controlling death’s darkly realm.”

“Tis why the stench of death begins to overwhelm.”

~

“Corpses are piled high waiting to be led:”

“To be shown to dark halls of the dead: ’til then,”

“I can’t pen their end: in fact no lines at all,”

“Not until checked-in by Grim: or Anubis,”

“Who cut loose from his roost is useless.”

~

“I was advised Grim had died by Mercury,*

“Twas he who revealed Grim’s treachery: and, “

“Whilst his death is tragedy, one can’t forgive perfidy.”

“Tis why we’ve invoked ancient ceremony:”

“Returning Bast to her former glory.”

~*~

The Great Fairy Fire (209) – Sifted and Drifted (Continued)

Ahead of Merlin’s imminent return from deep restorative sleep inside a sarcophagus of gold, other great secrets are emerging within the misted mountains of Eons Bach. Andromeda the Swan and Creosote the Cat left the confines of Merlin’s tomb to follow a hunch: an idea gleaned from a frieze of Hermes seen in the tunnel leading to where Merlin is returning to life. The frieze depicts a figure allegedly of Hermes with wings spread-wide open standing in front of an desert valley. Believing she knew the whereabouts of this scene, Andromeda flies the journeying duo to a nearby destination where they discover the remains of a tumbled-down stone structure. Recognising the location from an ancient drawing kept as part of her family history, Andromeda declares the ruin to be dedicated to the Goddess Bast and the Lands of Eons Bach formerly known as the Lower Kingdom of Egypt. Such explosive news is confirmation for Andromeda but revelation for the Highway Cat whose job it is to know and patrol all pathways to every location throughout history.

The inseparable two return to the Great Bastion mountains to again be at Merlin’s side. They arrive to find Great Heron outside of the tomb-like room taking in some air…

~~~

~ The Great Fairy Fire (209) – Sifted and Drifted (Continued) ~ By ~ Dewin Nefol ~

~

Andromeda landed softly in fine powdered snow,

Looked down from a crag on Heron below:

Who sat alone absorbed in deep trance,

Some distance from the tunnel door,

Where Book and Pen lay on the floor.

~

Her attention shifted to the dramatic peak;

Rising as a sleek snowy incline,

Its summit weighted: an ice-packed crest,

Dressed in a vest of translucent mist,

A pyramid built within wilderness.

~

“What you imagine is true,” Heron said,

“Tis the King’s Chamber of the Dead.”

“Beneath this high mount, this lofty tomb,”

“Extends away a sacred room: a Hall of Kings:”

“Lying at peace cradled by dreams.”

~

“Encased in rising foothills set far below,”

“The Queen’s Chamber is lain in our shadow.”

“By design, through choice, She built her room,”

“Constructed her tomb in sight of her land:”

“Both exquisite and grand – only the best for Bast.”

~

Great Heron stood and walked closer,

Within whispering reach of the two.

His demeanour was lighter, plumes steely blue,

As if sun’s hue renewed him: left him refreshed,

Rejuvenated in spirit by meditative rest.

~

“I know of Bast,” Andromeda said,

“But not the Halls of Monarchic dead.”

“I thought the land lost when famine struck,”

“The Kingdom gone no turning back:”

“How is it Kings lay beneath this rock?”

~

“Eons Bach is Home of the Dead.”

“Tis the Underworld of Myth,” Heron said.

“Where Pharaohs and Queens are laid to rest:”

“Their destination when passed from life to death:”

“Spirited from tombs as they drew last breath.”

~

“By sea by boat they’d make their way,”

“Crossing oceans by night, mountains by day.”

“Destined for Eons Bach as their final stay,”

“This land is the Twelfth Gate, the Afterlife: where all strife ends,”

“Where spirit ascends to be one with the Sun.”

~

“Eons Bach is Underworld?” Creosote mused.

“But what of portals in pyramids and pathways beyond?”

“What of passageways and doors to the stars?”

“What is written of them in the Book Of The Dead?”

“How is their end penned in memoir?”

~

Heron smiled, said nothing, turned to go,

Headed for the tunnel and deep shadow.

“What of the frieze of Hermes?” Andromeda said,

“Why is it here amongst the dead?”

“Tis not Hermes,” Great Heron said, “but Mercury the Winged-Seer!”

~*~

The Great Fairy Fire (207 – 208) – Sifted and Drifted (Continued)

Within a secret space in a hidden place atop the Great Bastion Mountains, Merlin the Wizard is concluding a process of restoration and return. He is currently inside a golden sarcophagus being gilded, upgraded, and enabled to lead a prophecy foretelling of Morgana-Le-Faye’s overthrow and reclamation of the Kingdom of Camelot. Asleep and floating within a dream, Merlin continues his journey towards the source of a feint sound, a song, echoing through his imaginary space. En route he is lulled to an emerald-isle lying silently beneath a misted sky between two pearlescent moons. Upon this isle Merlin finds the legendary tomb of King Arthur.

Waiting for the Wizard to wake from sleep and to step out of the sarcophagus, is the Great Heron, ancient Scribe of the Book Of The Dead. It is he whose words delineate the history of everything, whose pen, Red Penny Red, records the events of  lives and the judgement made at death in the archaic feather-bound Book. Great Heron is an ancient bird and a noble being with vision, who in his wisdom has predetermined Merlin’s outcome: to permit the great Wizard to persist with life but yet, perhaps only if the Great Wizard proves worthy…

~~~

~ The Great Fairy Fire (207) – Sifted and Drifted (Continued) ~ By ~ Dewin Nefol ~

~

Whilst a solar breeze teased leaves in trees,

Whilst apple-blossom flew twirling,

Merlin gazed upon Arthur’s tomb, his heart swirling,

Stirred by yearning for one never returning:

At peace amidst amber’s flaring light.

~

As might a Knight’s effigy be laid to rest,

With sword and shield upon his chest,

Arthur lay recumbent in chiselled black-stone,

Crowned in bright-gold, forever alone, but yet,

Eternally home beneath starlight.

~

“Taken in his Kingly prime!”

“When at a time I wasn’t there!”

“Fool that I was being found in exile:”

“Bound by thorns within wilderness,”

“Whilst villainous storms left emptiness!”

~

Merlin knelt reached out his hand,

Rested his palm on Arthur’s tomb.

Whereupon a flare: one arcing bloom,

Twinkled there within amber-stone: it flashed

Dashed and darted, excited by his presence.

~

A second essence joined the first, and then

Another sparked making three: before one more,

Made four, another five: whereupon,

Five were alive, alight upon his finger-tips,

Each lit more brightly than a star.

~*~

~ The Great Fairy Fire (208) – Sifted and Drifted (Continued) ~ By ~ Dewin Nefol ~

~

Great Heron disconnected telepathically,

Excused himself, turned to leave: said he,

“One moment for Merlin to be alone: for this tome,”

“To be set aside, Penny Red paused: my hand stayed,”

“Stilled on the page whilst he prays.”

~

“I shall return forthwith,” he said,

“It is but one moment of air: one chance,”

“To stand and stare after an eternity writing!”

“Scribing in this tome, this ancient gilded room!”

“Where I’ve been since antiquity!”

~

“We age,” he said, “upon leaving this tomb,”

“Time is eternal only within this room.”

“But not outside,” he cried, “in the harsh light of day,”

“Where these feathers of blue turn ashen grey!”

Great Heron laughed as he shuffled away.

~*~

By the light at the threshold at tunnels end,

Heron laid down both Book and Pen,

Paused his stride to reflect once again,

Then strode on through the entranceway,

Stepped out into the bright of day.

~

Sunshine pierced mountain’s misted veil,

Light danced upon crisp white snow,

“Intense indeed,” Heron declared focusing on his shadow:

‘Twas far taller than he and ill-at-ease moving constantly,

“Memories,” said he, “of those once penned ceased to be.”

~*~

The Great Fairy Fire (206) – Sifted and Drifted (Continued)

Drawing towards end of his restorative journey, Merlin spends brief moments with the Tailor before continuing onwards in his lucid-dream. The Great Wizard is asleep within a vat of alchemical gold being metaphysically gilded: here within his dream, Halcyon the Aurelian Leprechaun bonded his Philosopher’s Stone with gold whilst the Tailor rapid-fits him with light-fibres. Merlin is close to concluding an arduous process returning him to new life in new guise ready to lead a prophecy against Morgana-Le-Faye – current ruler of the Kingdom of Camelot – foretelling of her overthrow and reclamation of the Kingdom of Camelot.

Merlin is currently cradled within a golden sarcophagus secreted away in a hidden place located in the Great Bastion Mountains being watched-over by the Great Heron, a Kingfisher, and Halycon. They wait for Merlin to wake from dream whereupon Great Heron will ‘preside’ judgement over him and either allow him to continue his defined journey or not. Having returned from bonding the wizard’s Philosopher’s Stone a golden seed was plucked from his throat by Kingfisher. Such an object encouraged Merlin’s companions to believe they know where the Great Wizard’s dream may lead.

Inside the sarcophagus Merlin continues-on, floats-on and dreams-on drawing ever closer to the source of a distant humming guiding him forwards in his dream…

~~~

~ The Great Fairy Fire (206) – Sifted and Drifted (Continued) ~ By ~ Dewin Nefol ~

~

Tailor worked quickly with dexterous ease,

Weaving light-fibres wherever he pleased,

Betwixt 23 discs and vertebrae of Merlin’s spine,

From top to bottom he pulled new lines:

His craftsmanship was impeccably fine.

~

With light-fibres stretched, stitched and sown,

Tailor left Merlin to float on alone.

He turned to a worm-hole and slid away,

Whilst Merlin continued on his way,

Towards a song sung within dreaming play.

~*~

What appeared at first to be a string of pearls:

Distant to his eye amongst peppered starlight,

Three luminous spheres shining bright, but yet,

Not jewels at all! For by some curious miracle,

Merlin beheld the empirical, a spectacle made spherical.

~

What was seen went beyond believing:

Beyond his dreaming: further beyond belief!

Three Islands floated in dramatic relief, each

Raised upon semi-spheres of precious-stone:

Whilst two were moons, one were a lone home.

~

Two silk-soft isles beneath canopies of mist,

Each a wilderness of gleaming sand:

Landscapes of undulating cream piped and twisted,

Shuffled, rippled rolled towards rising peaks,

Swept softly onto lucent bays, lambent creeks.

~

Between two hoary isles, heavenly-bodies both fair,

A third island emerald green, hung in space there,

Resplendent it dazzled with an intense gleam:

An incandescent luminescence, a lustrous brilliance,

Like none ever seen, to his eye ’twas scintillating.

~

No-less a misted canopy of shimmering cloud,

Less a shroud more a veil reflecting-back light,

Completed the sphere through which Merlin caught sight,

 An Apple-orchard blossomed about a magnificent tomb,

On an isle of its own baring gold-roses in bloom.

~

Towards this small isle Merlin drifted in his dream

But still set-down upon solid ground.

He stood bemused, confused, amused gazing ahead,

To where steps led to the sepulchre: golden in colour,

Ornate with exquisite relief.

~

Merlin stepped with a lightness of foot:

‘Twas almost as if he floated in a dream, but yet,

Redolence of sweet roses, scent of apple-trees:

His sense of presence remained very real indeed,

Indeed even bloomed on the isle in his dream.

~

Not gold at all nor made solely from stone,

‘Twas rippled through with amber:  how it flared,

Refracted light with deep orange flame, to bedazzle

Merlin’s gaze again and again: ’twas as if he were scrying,

So soon he were crying – for lying here was King Arthur.

~*~

The Great Fairy Fire (205) – Sifted and Drifted (Continued)

Merlin remains dreaming in his vat of gold whilst Andromeda, the Swan, and Creosote, the Cat, take a breath of fresh air. They’ve left the confines of a tomb-like room in which the Great Wizard continues his process of return to new life in new form. It is a journey that has seen him grow from a single atom of himself to imminent return in new guise: he is renewed with his Philosopher’s Stone repaired by a golden Leprechaun called Halcyon and, is currently with the Tailor being fitted with light-fibres. Merlin’s journey is set to continue for a while yet, for he has taken advice from the Great Heron – ancient Scribe of Book Of The Dead – and floats onwards towards a distant sound humming within his surreal space. The Great Heron and his two companions, have determined where Merlin may be head, and wait in anticipation of his return.

And so it that Andromeda and Creosote head towards a destination not far away, which the Swan has identified from an image of Hermes found on a frieze on the tunnel wall when first arriving. The suggestion she has put forward is that the image of Hermes reflected the geography of Eons Bach but yet Hermes is standing in a desert. It is a mystery to Creosote, but not to the Swan…

~~~

~ The Great Fairy Fire (205) – Sifted and Drifted (Continued) ~ By ~ Dewin Nefol ~

~

Climbing quickly to higher elevation,

Andromeda flew-on with focussed intention,

To a peak westwards of where they were,

Where the air were cooler, but a clearer view,

Offered sight through absent cloud.

~

Once landed Creosote dismounted,

Strode purposefully towards one ledge,

Where there on the edge gazing below,

To hills flowing towards Eons Bach:

Hidden beneath powdered snow.

~

“There,” said Andromeda pointing her wing,

“Count two hilltops-in from the right,”

“By line of sight a five minute flight,”

“But yet I wager, a twenty minute return.”

“Well then,” said the Cat, “let’s go learn!”

~*~

In no time at all they’d reached the wold,

Set-down by an old ruin of stone,

Tumbled part-crumbled on which ivy was grown,

Of a curious nature neither had known,

Or seen before in their yore.

~

“This isn’t a familiar sight,” said the Cat,

“I’ve never seen anything quite like that,”

“Certainly not here in Eons Bach!”

“How might I have missed seeing this?”

“Something so remarkably curious?”

~

“From the air it’s not there, it’s not even seen,”

“Somehow it blends into the scene: but yet”

“Curiously emerges before the eye when level?”

“It’s an ancient temple,” remarked the Swan,

“One I’ve done some reading on.”

~

“Dedicated to Bast,” Andromeda said,

“But more than that, or so I read,”

“Tis where the Nile Queen were wed:”

“Where after procession she took possession,”

“Of Headdress and Companion.”

~

“According to ancient Egyptology,”

“This valley shares unique symmetry,”

“With the Nile’s desert geography,”

“As if both were a mirror to each other:”

“Twins born from one Earth Mother.”

~

“History recalls The Two Lands of Egypt,”

“One higher, one lower: both ruled as one land.”

“Ruled by one hand, a Queen called Bast.”

“Who left her motherland of sand,”

“To rebuild the land we call Eons Bach.”

~

The Hooded Cat sat back in amazement:

Clearly perplexed by what was said:

“There are no pyramids in Eons Bach: instead,”

“We’ve forested hills, fields, and trees!”

“Where then has gone this history?”

~

“It lies beneath your feet within rich soil.”

“That’s where her Kingdom now resides.”

“The frieze of Hermes was made right here,”

“At a time before fire, famine and flood:”

“Millennia before thickly-grown woods.”

~

“Beneath Great Bastions bubbles a volcanic brew,”

“A steaming stew of toxic fumes,”

“Which burst the walls of rocky flumes, and,”

“Flowed into the Nile. Tis why no life exists at all,”

“In the waters of Black Babble.”

~

“The fatal eruption caused devastation:”

“Depletion, starvation, dehydration, decimation.”

“Bast’s civilization fell into rapid decline:”

“Few survivors returned to warmer climes.”

“Leaving behind a dust-bowl.”

~

“Mother Nature could not restore the Babble,”

“But instead changed her weather: and for millennia,”

“Brought rain and snow to parched earth below,”

“Whilst melting peaks fed tributaries,”

“Encouraging new life to grow.”

~

“And so in time Eons Bach slowly came to be.”

“This valley chosen especially for its history.”

“Tis why beneath its lush emerald mane,”

“In a despairing place knowing only pain,”

“Lies the domain of Underworld.”

~

“One comment more before we turn to go,”

“The pyramids are there beneath ice and snow.”

“Two of the Great Bastions have hollow crests:”

“One contains Merlin who dreams and rests,”

“Whilst beneath our feet lays Queen Bast.”

~

“This hill is the second pyramid: this temple its crown.”

“Should we dig down in this frozen ground,”

“Beneath our feet will be found,”

“A pyramid built for a Nile Queen: now buried,”

“Beneath slopes wearing ever-green.”

~*~

The Great Fairy Fire (204) – Sifted and Drifted (Continued)

Whilst Great Heron, Kingfisher and Halcyon the Aurelian Leprechaun wait for Merlin to wake from a miraculous dream in his vat of gold, Creosote, the Highway Cat, and Andromeda, the Swan, leave the confines of Merlin’s tomb-like room to take-in a spot of fresh air. It is a rare moment of calm and peace in an unfolding story telling of Merlin’s return to life in new form. The Great Wizard embarked on a process of restoration regrown from one single atom of himself and if successful in completing this task, Merlin will return ready to lead a prophecy foretelling of Morgana-Le-Faye’s overthrow and reclamation of the Kingdom of Camelot.

Merlin’s friends, key players in his unfolding drama, wait patiently beside a golden sarcophagus placed centre of an ancient space hidden in the peaks of the Great Bastion Mountains inside which the wizard is being gilded. Already his Philosopher’s Stone is repaired and shortly Merlin will spend time with the Tailor being fitted with light-fibres. During this transformative period, Andromeda has been thinking about a mosaic inlaid in one of the tunnel walls, which was seen when they first entered the tunnel leading to the tomb-like room. The frieze appears to have temporarily baffled the Swan…

~~~

~ The Great Fairy Fire (204) – Sifted and Drifted (Continued) ~ By ~ Dewin Nefol ~

~

Andromeda led Creosote back through the tunnel,

Then paused whilst viewing the frieze.

“It occurs to me,” said the pondering Swan.

“This image of Hermes so nicely done, is set in a familiar space.”

“Now I know where we’ll find this place!”

~

“You do?” Asked the Cat, “Why would we do that?”

“Why would we leave here to travel?”

“Why go to all that trouble at a time like this?”

“Is it really worth taking the risk?”

“Shouldn’t we persist here and wait for the Seer?”

~

“It’s not far,” Andromeda replied,

“Just the other side of the next peak, and I,”

“Would like to take a closer peek: one quick glimpse is all,”

“There’s something uncanny going on,”

“Something that shouldn’t be possible.”

~

“The next peak? But that’s ridiculous!”

“Hermes is stood amidst desert sand!”

“This is Eons Bach my studious friend, but yet”

 “You have me understand: that,”

“These two realms are the one same land?”

“

“Whilst we’ve been waiting for Merlin,”

“My thoughts have been swirling,”

“I knew I had seen that scene before.”

“Long before we ever met: in fact,”

“Long before Eons Bach were born.”

~

“My kin extends generations back,”

“Elegant escorts for Kings and Queens.”

“Our history is rich with many things:”

“For so many things have we been, and all,”

“Recorded for posterity, in our family’s library.”

~

“I know much of our ancestral yore,”

“As archivist I spend hours reading,”

“Pouring over our history: it fascinates me,”

“To know what was, what is, what might be.”

“This scene I’ve seen before, but ’twas without Hermes.”

~

“It’s in a drawing made on an ancient scroll.”

“A view from the same perspective,”

“But instead of forest, hill and dale: the land is deforested,”

“Arid desert extends away to pale as shimmering haze,”

“In blazing sunlight does it lay, in glorious glaring glaze “

~

“I’m certain the peaks as depicted:”

“As well as the dust-bowl valley shown,”

“Is a view from the Great Bastion Mountains,”

“A perspective of our home: drawn long, long ago,”

“Before Eons Bach was known.”

~

“In place of grassland, forest and plain,”

“Instead of colour encouraged by rain,”

“Our valley was desert: but not a deserted land,”

“Not bland at all in anyway, as through it’s centre ran,”

“The Black Babble River: called the Nile back then.”

~

“But how can that be?!” Mused Creosote,

“When Egypt is so far away?”

“How might two realms on Earth be one,”

“When one has rain and one has sun!”

“Please tell me how this can be done!”

~

“I’m not sure at all I can answer that.”

“Or provide you with explanation: but yet,”

“I’m certain it’s the same location.”

“Come,” said the Swan, “I’ll take you there:”

“You can make your own evaluation.”

~*~

The Great Fairy Fire (202 – 203) – Sifted and Drifted (Continued)

Merlin is returning to new life in new guise and with new form. He has grown from one atom of himself whilst proceeding on an arduous journey to a secret place in a hidden location in the Great Bastion Mountains surrounding Eons Bach – an antiquated Welsh village of great importance. It is here inside the mountain in a tomb-like room where in a vat of gold Merlin is being gilded: infused through and through with alchemical gold and his Philosopher’s Stone repaired by the Leprechaun, Halcyon: and all whilst Merlin dreams in deep sleep inside a sarcophagus. Within this unknown place containing Merlin, waits Great Heron, Scribe of Book Of The Dead who has yet to pass final judgement on the Wizard and allow him to continue on his journey to completion. Merlin is so close to concluding his restorative process with all but a ‘light-fitting’ with the Tailor to go before an encounter with the source of a sound quietly humming in his dream. Then it is back to the tomb-like room and to the Scribe eager with his pen poised above the line.

The Kingdom of Camelot is under the rulership of the wicked Queen Morgana-Le-Faye who has learnt of Merlin’s return and of prophecy foretelling her overthrow: one led by the Great Wizard. She has flown to the Great Bastion mountains intending to slay the Wizard. However in her haste to chase recollection of a location remembered from the past, she and her accomplices struck the mountainside whilst flying in thick fog and fell upon the icy, snow-covered floor, to chill most thoroughly. Found by a rapacious wolf who rejected this feast of toxic flesh, the bodies of the three pursuers were instead carried to a mountain top for sky-burial…

~~~

~ The Great Fairy Fire (202) – Sifted and Drifted (Continued) ~ By ~ Dewin Nefol ~

~

Birds flocked and raced jostling for space,

In a special place where hundreds had gathered:

To mourn and pray for souls soon to pass,

On a mountain plateau above a high-path,

Flesh would be shared, aired, spirit passed.

~

But this bad meat had frozen, was bound in ice:

To bitter to swallow, its taste not nice,

But once thawed ‘neath next spring’s sun,

Would the Carrion feast and spirit move-on:

Flesh would be stored for Winter’s duration.

~

There was fresh-flesh aplenty to be found elsewhere,

Meat better tendered for burial fayre: soul’s far sweeter,

Dispersed through the air in feathered guise –

Final flight in cloudless skies before release, and,

Freedom at last from all Earthly ties.

~

Three frozen corpses were passed into a cave,

There left neatly stacked between stalagmites,

Whilst outside birds of prey quietly prayed:

Not funeral rites but blessings: for these decayed souls,

Were prisoners, sealed tight in ice everlasting.

~*~

~ The Great Fairy Fire (203) – Sifted and Drifted (Continued) ~ By ~ Dewin Nefol ~

~

“Double-Helix.” confirmed the Tailor.

He was reading from a ‘to-sow’ list,

“By special order,” he recalled, remembering the call:

 A request made months ago, personally,

By the Galactic Apothecary.

~

Said Tailor to Merlin, “this is a first for me.”

“But do not doubt my ability,”

“Light-fitting is a trade apprenticed before let loose,”

“Twisting fibre-cable around your ‘dorsum rachis’

 “Your vertebral column dear Merlin, your mast!”

~

“O! I see,” said Hermes, “is that because there are two?”

“Not just Merlin here anymore, for I’m here too!”

“So doubling-up would be ideal, to enable us both to do,”

“Or not to do, whichever is the question: for he can do,”

“All the magical stuff,” said Hermes, “whilst I do elevation!”

~

“You have such wit for one just returned anew!”

“But to give you your fair do’s,” Merlin mused,

“You’ve already improved my prose.”

“And will do so some more!” Said Hermes,

“Upon our return, when then my pen flows!”

~

Merlin smiled at thought of the miles he’d roamed,

Long before Hermes ever showed.

The stories he had yet to write: and would,

One day soon when out of his cocoon,

Hermes and he would weave one loom.

~

“Double-Helix will be fine thank you” said Merlin,

“Perfect in fact,” Hermes added in quick-time.

“For it’ll speed our pens along long lines!”

“Flare our fayre with better rhymes! So stitch away!”

“Light-up this day! Thread our spine with shine!”

~*~

The Great Fairy Fire (201) – Sifted and Drifted (Continued)

Merlin floats within his dreaming place heading for who knows where when he meets the Tailor and follows him to another space altogether to be threaded with light-fibre. The Wizard’s current circumstance is nothing less than the penultimate stage of a restorative process returning him to new life in new guise with new form. He is being gilded and made golden: an experience that has included repair-work to his Philosopher’s Stone and now the prospect of new cabling being added at his core. Should Merlin complete this endeavour and conclude the process of return he is destined to lead a prophecy foretelling the overthrow of Morgana-Le-Faye and return of Camelot to its former glory. The wicked Queen in feathered-guise pursued the Wizard but was lost in thick fog whilst flying through the Great Bastion Mountains and grounded after having hit a granite-rock wall. Morgana and her two rogue-Fey were carried away by a flock of birds towards a snow-covered mountain peak high in the Bastions.

Waiting outside of the sarcophagus in which Merlin floats and dreams in a vat of gold is a Great Heron, a Leprechaun, and a Kingfisher: friends assisting his return most eager to have him wake. Meanwhile, inside the golden sarcophagus, inside Merlin’s dream, his surreal meeting with the Tailor is only just beginning…

~~~

~ The Great Fairy Fire (201) – Sifted and Drifted (Continued) ~ By ~ Dewin Nefol ~

~

Thin small and nimble, but yet despite his size,

Tailor was well dressed, suitably attired:

 A three-piece double-breasted where crested,

On his pocket-square, in stitching big and bold,

Were sown two initials in threads of gold.

~

“Will Weaver,” the Tailor said, offering his hand,

“But you good sir, may call me Bill.”

“I’m more than a swatch cut from old cloth,”

“More than a stitch in time. Far more than repair,”

“I’m the Tailor with flare who fashions rhyme.”

~

“Well Will Waver” said Merlin unrolling his tube.

“That was a wild-ride inside the worm-flume!”

Merlin calmed and then added with a considered tune,

“A Leprechaun told me to keep a lookout for you, and,”

“Now I’ve been introduced to you, please tell what you do?”

~

“I’ll be fitting you out with light-fibre. Didn’t he say?”

“One threaded-core of light with each bright end stayed,”

“It’s woven as a helix to account for every disc:”

“A most delicate escapade but worth every risk:”

“For every twist is a further twist of tender light-kissed happiness!”

~

“O! I see!” quipped the Wizard, when he didn’t see at all,

So instead said nothing so as not to appear a fool.

 “Let me explain, make it plain: let me make this clear.”

“Whenever sunlight fills your sight, your mind fills a reservoir, and pours,”

“Spilling light diamond-white fuelling your solar fire.”

~

“Fibres run from your crown through to your spine,”

“Then pass on down to what’s called the Root.”

 “From which grows your nervous shoot: shooting as a chord,”

“It’s what carries data keeping you informed.”

“It’s what I’m changing when you’re cable-pulled.”

~

“I replace the root-stem by darning it: and,”

“By stitching alone close the hole.”

“Before threading two cable ties,”

“Stitched deep-down inside your core: then sow the Helix in place,”

“Move up your spine some more.”

~

“To the very top in fact where there to stitch and tack,”

“Two thick tracks of fibres to your bony back: then stretch them tight,”

“Each light-thread pulled right-up to each hemisphere:”

“Pulled right-down to tension the Helix there: to finally fix its flex,”

“Before I then awaken you, engage your light-effects.”

~

“Quite!” Exclaimed Merlin, “but just how bright does it get?”

“Will I burn up and down all along my spine?”

“Will I flow, will I glow, will I even know?”

“Not unless I’m in a darkened room,”

“Get a bright idea and light-up the gloom!”

~

“Why Merlin! You’ve such tone and melody!”

“I do declare you minstrel very merrily!”

“A far broader range, a much sleeker quill,”

“No doubt you’ve Magic inside as well: as swell as,”

“Light-conductive threads: enough said!?”

~*~