A Party on Avalon Story
AVALON
Xallia was having a fit. Not only had she hibernated
through the entire
Interregnum, because of that damned Puck's sleep spell, now she had
to pick a
mortal as her guest for the Party. It started out fine, and just got
greater.
She kicked a pebble into a pond, quietly hoping
she'd maim a fish, and turned
to face Lord Oberon himself, who had snuck up behind her while she
was trying
and failing to calm herself.
He stared at her sternly. "Xallia, most sleepy of
my children, have you chosen no
mortal yet? The party is but hours away, you had best hurry."
Xallia surpressed a yawn (oh, how nice a bit of
sleep would be) and lowered her
gaze. "Oh, noble Lord Oberon, I was on my way to the mortal realm even
now,
when we met. But tell me, am I the only one who hasn't chosen yet?"
Oberon spent a few seconds in thought. "No. I think
neither Anubis nor Hel have
chosen yet, but there are not many other than the death-gods who have
yet to fetch
a guest."
Xallia looked up at him. How much like Lord Oberon
it was, making even
uncertainty seem a noble trait.
"If you will excuse me, oh noble Lord Oberon, I
shall immediately venture to
the mortal realm to fetch my guest."
Oberon smiled. "Very well, then. Let me not hinder
you. Which reminds me,
I wonder where the Weird Sisters are right now." With that, he wandered
off,
and Xallia opened up a small portal to the mortal world.
SOMEWHERE IN KANSAS
Xallia stood on the sidewalk, disguised as a mortal
girl in her late teens,
looking up at a placard advertising a free-for-all conference on History,
Religion and Warfare, with a long list of guest lecturers, of which
only a
few names caught her interest. Whereas most of the names were followed
by
either PhD or DSc, this one name was followed by a KT, whatever that
could
mean. Xallia decided to take a look.
CONFERENCE HALL
Xallia walked quietly into the hall where a man
in his mid-twenties talked
about the role of Religion during the colonization of America, with
a tone
in his voice indicating he had seen such events in his lifetime. Afterwards
he carried on with a short lecture on how religion had been used as
an excuse
for war in the late middle ages. A quick decision later, Xallia left
a note
for him in the lobby.
HOTEL ROOM
Jason Evermore had just returned to his room and
changed back to the chainmail
and trenchcoat setup he always wore, when the bellboy brought up a
note from
the lobby. Jason tipped the bellboy and read.
"Dear Mr. Evermore.
Your lecture was intriguing,
and there are a few things I and a few friends
wish to inquire about.
Please come to room 217 for an overlook."
No signature. Still, it was worth a look. At least,
it couldn't hurt. As he
opened the door a small, bright purple light struck him, engulfed him,
and
the world became cloaked in darkness.
AVALON
Darkness...
Silence...
No, wait, there's some music nearby, and some woman
singing off-key... above
me? Jason Evermore slowly gathered his wits and tried to get up on
his feet,
but was mercilessly and violently impeded by the oak table he found
himself
to be placed underneath. He crawled out from under it, quickly reaching
three
important conclusions:
1: He was placed upon grass. The table was placed
upon grass, indicating an
outdoor location.
2: He was not in Kansas anymore, the clean air and
blue sky far more resembled
the English countryside and forests from his own childhood, over 800
years
ago.
3: The singing woman was standing at the edge of
the tabletop, and from his
most uncommon angle, Jason had a clear view up her skirt, all the way
to her
chin.
Surpressing a cough he crawled out, got on his feet
and started examining the
surroundings as quickly as the laws of physics would allow.
The sun was setting, and everywhere around him,
Jason saw people enjoying
various foodstuffs and beverages... hang on... people? Half of them
were
equipped with pointed ears... and... those roars in the distance...
familiar,
but no animal he knew... And then everything fell into place. The roars
were
gargoyles awakening from their stone sleep, he remembered this from
his two
visits to castle Wyvern, where he learned of his son. And, according
to their
stories, the guys with the pointed ears were fairies, and this place
would be
Avalon. Avalon, home of the fey, resting place of King Arthur Pendragon.
Of
course, according to Preston, Goliath and Xanatos, King Arthur was
no longer
here.
"Hey, mister, you (hup) look kinda lost. And don't
think for a moment I didn't
see you (hiccup) leering up my shkirt."
Jason turned around and looked into the - somewhat
swimming - eyes of the
young woman who had been singing.
"Well, actually, miss, I am lost. Perhaps you can
tell me what is going on here? And
I was not leering up your skirt; at least, not intentionally." Jason
smiled
at her, hoping to avoid her hitting him.
She flashed him a big smile. "Ooo, an Englishman
(hup), and a polite one, too.
Well, in case you haven't figured, this is the island of Avalon, and
this is one (hic)
helluva party. Each (hup) of Oberon's Children are supposed to bring
a mortal,
and someone chose you. I'm one of the lucky ones, I (hic) was told
in advance.
And, judging by your expression, you didn't have a clue until just
now."
"How true. In that case, miss, I should like to
find out who brought me here.
And you, young lady, should consider going easy on the alcohol for
the next
hour or two."
At that moment a male fairie snuck up on the woman
and grabbed her from
behind. "C'mon, girl, the Queen wanted to..." He froze in mid-sentence.
"JE?"
Jason gave the fairie a thorough once-over. Then
he grinned. "Coyote, old dog,
how long has it been? Almost 300 years? What mischief have you been
up to?"
Coyote quickly pasted his grin back on. "I've been
fine, JE, and by the way,
this is Beth Maza."
Jason gave the woman a closer look. "Ah, that figures.
I thought there was
something familiar. You're Elisa's sister, right?" He extended his
hand. "Jason Evermore,
delighted to make your acquaintance."
Now Coyote seemed back on track. "Uh. but how'd
you get here, JE? The party's
meant for the fey and their mortal guests. And, as far as I know, you're
neither fey nor mortal."
Jason smiled enigmatically. "You know that, I know that, but I have
a feeling the
other fey don't have a clue. Besides, I was brought here unaware."
"Ah, well, I'll keep my big mouth shut, and, if
you'll excuse us, the Queen wanted
to meet Beth. By the way, do either of you know what you have when
you hold two
green balls in your hand? I heard the question, but missed the answer."
Jason grinned. "You have the undivided attention
of a leprechaun."
At the very next moment, someone grunted at their
feet. "Huh. Tell a friend..."
And so they left, while Jason starked exploring the
unfamiliar surroundings.
Ah, over there was a tree, seemingly planted and
grown for the solitary
purpose of offering a place to sit down, with one branch, at least
six inches
thick and at a most convenient height for posterior relaxation. Jason
made his
way to the tree, got up on the branch and leaned against the trunk.
It took
no more than a few minutes before he was more relaxed, more at peace
than for
at least 400 years. As if guided by a divine hand, he carefully lured
his
lute up out of his pocket and fine-tuned the strings, before indulging
himself in a few psalms.
As Psalm 23 faded he looked around and realized
he had gathered a small
audience, fey, humans and gargoyles were casually scattered around
the tree,
waiting for more. When it was evident there was no planned concert
going on,
one of the female humans, maybe about eight years old, asked if he
knew a
song called "Mae Hiraeth yu y M“r".
Jason smiled a bit sadly at her. "I'm afraid I don't,
miss. I never did study Welsh.
But if you have any other requests, I'll see what I can do."
And with that, Jason went through a long list of
songs, ranging from folk songs,
through C&W to the most complex Metallica ballads, a list too long
to recite here
and now. For as the last song was sung a pair of regal-looking fey
approached the tree,
and all the other fey bowed before them. And beside them came three
stunningly
beautiful women... no... female fey. Jason briefly opened his senses
to confirm the
approaching fey were Oberon, Titania, Luna, Phoebe and Selene.
He knelt before them, the very image of humility.
"Servus et humilis,
O Noble Lord Oberon and Queen Titania."
And then, to his amazament, a somewhat familiar
voice... "Still the same, or
what, Evermore?"
He looked up at the male fey. "We have met, Lord
Oberon?"
FLASHBACK - APRIL 26TH, 1986, CHERNOBYL NUCLEAR PLANT
Jason ran down the stairs near the cooling water
pump, only the leader of the
daemon cult still alive to fulfill the ancient prophecy and bring about
the
downfall of humanity. Had only that damned security personell been
doing their
job properly, the madman up ahead would have been somewhat stalled.
Jason checked his watch. Five minutes left until
the conjunction would occur.
If he hadn't caught up with the cultist by then and fetched the seventh
Stone...
God have mercy. He stumbled upon a short man in coveralls, yelling
something in
Russian... something about darkness. At least he was somewhat conscious,
and
sufficiently with it to realize he had to get out to survive.
Four minutes.
The engineer was running like the devil was chasing
him, quite true,
considering the situation. There, a door hanging from a single hinge,
leading
further down into the plant.
Meanwhile, in the control room one of the technicians
discovered a minor
increase in temperature in the core.
Three minutes.
On a floor far below himself, Jason could see Jurelskin
working feverishly
setting up the cursed altar, preparing for the Coming of Zarnagoth,
and
ultimately, the extinction of life on the planet.
Two minutes.
Jason was searching for the fastest way down when
a tall, spectral man with
elongated ears hovered before him, pointing around a corner, telling
him to
go there. Jason leapt toward him, collided with nothing but thin air
and
swerved down a set of stairs.
One minute.
Jason skidded soundlessly over to the altar, while
Jurelskin was focusing his will
on a small, but growing dark rift in reality, a rift forming in the
focal point of three rays
of black light emanating from the Stone, reflecting from metallic surfaces
and focusing
on the very nuclear core itself...
Fifteen seconds...
Jason pulled up the necklace in which six Stones
were already held...
Ten seconds...
He gathered up the seventh Stone and slammed it
into its designated slot in
the silver necklace he had been given by Merlin...
Five seconds...
The rift opened a little wider, an inhuman hand
reaching through. Jurelskin
turned toward Jason, eyes wide and filled with fear...
Three seconds...
The hand closed around Jurelskin...
One seconds...
Jurelskin was pulled into the rift...
Zero.
Although he knew it to be pointless, Jason turned
around and shielded his
eyes from the flash of light he knew was yet to come.
The core exploded, spreading radioactive material
over a wide area, causing
fallout that would continue for years. Jason looked up at the mushroom-shaped
cloud that formed above him, then down at the still-blue sky... below?
That was the last thing he recalled before awakening
beside the unholy altar
to find a severed foot and a gnawed-off shotgun...
AVALON, PARTY TIME
"You were the one to show me the stairwell?" Jason
hardly believed his senses,
but, of course, this was Avalon, where the ordinary was the exception.
"Yes, and it would seem you did a fine job, preventing
the demonic invasion.
I only regret I could help you no further." Oberon smiled at Jason.
"And
believe not for a moment that I did it only to be nice. Avalon would
have
suffered as much, if not even more than your world. You have earned
your stay
here for the duration of the party. However, the fey who brought you
here
shall have to venture to the human world once again, to find a mortal
guest."
However, 300 yards away, Xallia was sleeping peacefully
under a tree,
blissfully unaware of the severe penalty Oberon was plotting for her...
if he
could only find her first...
THE END (of the story, not the party)
Click here to see a pic of Jason Evermore
