Prophetic Dreams

Chapter 5

James and Mary pulled up outside of Shirley's house.  It didn't look as creepy as it had the first time James had been here.  Although the ivy still hung on the walls as dead as it had been, and the fountain still looked as if it had been void of water for a couple decades, James had a different understanding.  They approached the enormous front door and before they knocked it opened as it had before, unassisted.  When they entered the house they were in the room where Shirley and James had first met.  It was different now.  From the outside the house looked like an old civil war colonial but on the inside it was a drafty old castle.   The ceilings were very high, James guessed the one in this room to be about 20 feet.  There were ancient oil filled basins all around the walls about 10 feet up that provided the light.  Beside the fireplace was a set of stairs that led down to what James figured to be a cellar.  There was nothing else in the room, other than the chair facing the fireplace and the rug he had sat on when last he visited.  James followed Mary as she went past the fireplace and down the stairs to the cellar.  The stairs wound down for what seemed to James like an eternity.  Every 30 feet there was another small basin providing them with light.  At the bottom of the stairs was a tall solid oak door, Mary passed through and James followed.  Just inside the cavernous room James stopped and looked in awe.  The room was so vast he didn't know if he could walk across it in a day, let alone find what he was looking for.  For that matter he didn't know what he would come here to look for.  "What is this place?" he asked Mary.

"This is the room where the records of the ancients are kept." Mary said softly so as not to echo.

"So Shirley is the record keeper?"

"I am many things my boy", said a familiar voice from behind him.  James turned around to find Shirley donning a black cloak.  "You see James, I am the Keeper of the Records, I am an Enchantress, and on top of that I am a Mage."

"A Mage?"  You mean like in those video games and movies and what not?"  James asked rather disbelieving.

"Well yes James in a way but it is actually Magus, that is the proper name, I use mage so you would understand what I meant.  Now the things you see in the movies and in the video games are much exaggerated, however they are not all that far from the truth.  Many of the creators of those things are ancients themselves and therefore had an understanding of the basics."

"So just how many ancients are out there?"

"There are many of us who do not know what they are, much the way you were.  Speaking of which I am glad to see you are wearing the amulet."

"I am?" James said looking down surprised.

"It is a good thing that you wear it my boy, you see that amulet has a long history with your family.  It once belonged to a man who would be a relative of yours.  Back then it was used for good, of course that was before it was corrupted.  You see the magic of the ancients is very strong, that amulet did not used to have a cross in the center.  Instead it was a ruby that shone bright as the sun; I believe it will return when it is again needed.  The host who had it after your ancestor was a very powerful warlock.  He transformed the amulet to use its power against the people it was designed to protect.  When he lost it, the amulet itself went into a limbo state.  Its power was not lost but was neither good nor evil.  It waited several hundred years in this state for you to come.  When you found it on that road it began its transformation back to its original state.  Even now you can see that not only has the lady on the cross disappeared, the cross itself has as well."  James had not noticed this, but yes the cross was no longer in the center of the amulet.  The serpents remained around the outside but the horns just within them had turned to long slender feathers.

"Why have the serpents remained?" James asked puzzled, "aren't serpents a sign of evil?"

"Not all serpents are evil; both sides have their own dragons that protect that which is of value to us.  There are two who protect his very room."  Shirley said.  "Now lets get down to business, we have a lot to do and very little time to get it done."  As Shirley spoke these words a man stepped out of the shadows.  He was dressed in full armor that looked as if it were made of titanium, very light yet very durable.  It was not a suit of armor as you might think but all of the vitals were covered.  His chest piece was done with a very detailed engraving of an eagle in flight, and his leggings and boots were made to match.   "James I would like you to meet John Hurl.  He is our blacksmith; he will make you everything you need from armor to weaponry.  He is also a warrior so he will be able to teach you in the ways of the weapons he creates for you.  Now as far as your weapons and armor go I will work up some enchants for you that will work toward your strengths and Mary will work you up a bag to carry your other items in that you might need.  As far as you go I want you to sit here is this chair and read the book I gave to you."

"Oh I almost forgot, I can't read the book, I don't know the language it is written in."  James said.

"James, the book is written in the language of the ancients, this is not a learned language it is a blood language.  You know it in your heart and I think considering what you have learned you will be able to understand it."  James sat down in the chair that Shirley had pointed out to him in the corner of the room.  He watched for a moment as everyone scurried about gathering supplies and readying for his "coming of age party" as he had come to think of it.  They all looked like they knew exactly what needed to be done, and he didn't have a clue what was even happening.  Yesterday he was a freelance writer and now he is some special "ancient" who is suppose to go to war for a cause that he didn't understand.  James looked at the table beside the chair and there was the book staring up at him.  The book he had left in the couch in his apartment had mysteriously made its way 30 miles away into a room he would have never believed could have existed in a million years.