Post by redsycorax on Oct 28, 2018 0:50:26 GMT
Of all the Earths across the infinity of the multiverse, Magicland is one of the most mysterious and unexplored. This may be attributable to the strong identification of that particular alternate Earth with the Arthurian mythos. Here, Arthur, Merlin, Guinevere, Lancelot, Gawain, Percival, Morgaine Le Fay, griffons, chimera, Simon Magus, the Lord of Misrule and Saturninus were all literal entities and historical verities. But nothing lasts forever, and the forces of Morgaine and her incestuous son Mordred took the opportunity of the Crisis on Infinite Earths to launch a devastating attack on the three Magicland continents of Asgard, Olympus and Oceania. Sadly, during the onslaught, King Arthur and Queen Guinevere died in battle, as did Mordred. Gravely weakened, Morgaine Le Fay returned to her fastness in Avalon to tend to her wounds. Merlin survived, acted as Regent for Guinevere and Arthur's son, Uther II Pendragon, and reorganised the Knights of the Round Table, including women proficient at combat. King Uther proved as wise and provident as his late parents, although in her fastness, Morgaine tended Ytraine, Mordred's wife, who died in childbirth producing a granddaughter to the sorceress, Alura. Merlin had enshrouded Magicland in a null-time shroud, awaiting such time as the Multiverse would be reborn- as it was, in 2009, meaning that it could emerge from its seclusion.
On distant Earth-359, much the same thing happened. Earth-Two's Wonder Woman had met Terra Terruna, the High Princess of the Empire of Nordameryne on that world, enabling her to defeat Duke Dazam, despot, subversive and pirate. After Wonder Woman returned to her own Earth, Princess Terra married her beloved, Prince Stefan of Usaphea, and together, the couple had a daughter, Princess Troia. As time went on, the family fought many threats to the safety and security of their nation and homeland, until one fateful day in the Year of Our Lord and Lady One Thousand Nine Hundred and Eighty Five. Prince Stefan valiantly gave his life so that shadow demons might not triumph, giving Nordameryne's Archmage Galicius enough time to cast a null-time spell with comparable effects to that of Magicland. Both worlds resided together in an opaque null-time continuum, frozen like dragonflies in amber, until the resurrection of the multiverse and the return of multiple alternate universes.
Magicland and Earth-359 were "ancient" worlds, not in the sense of greater chronological age compared to their countless alternate counterparts, but in the sense that they had emerged from non-existence before Earths of subsequently greater probability. Their fabric groaned and sighed with thaumaturgy, and its practitioners were honoured individuals of high rank and respect on either Earth. Shortly after their emergence from null-time, Uther and Troia met at Camelot as a mutual defence pact was forged. Merlin related to the young king and princess that Morgaine Le Faye still drew breath, and Duke Dazam was nowhere to be found on Earth-359, either. With the loss of her beloved Stefan, Terra Terruna was seen less and less in public as she ceded more duties to her daughter and heir, Troia. in Magicland, peace, free trade, prosperity and equality prevailed under Uther's prudent and attentive rule. As time went on, diplomatic interaction mellowed into passionate love between the two children of legends.
As the decades went on and she trained her granddaughter to adeptness and potency in the dark arts, Morgaine relished the possibility of a second confrontation between the sanctimonious rulers of Camelot, and dominion over Magicland that would one day be hers, and that of her scion. Alura lacked her father's violent edge, but if possible, that made Morgaine's granddaughter even more of a threat than her father, given her coolness, focus and knowledge of the malign arts of her grandmother. Like a noxious weed, Morgaine's ambitions necrotised amidst the solitude and sanctuary of legendary Avalon anew. Unexpectedly, she welcomed a newcomer- Duke Dazam. who had used Words of Power to translocate himself from Earth-359 to Magicland. Dazam told Morgaine and Alura about his own nemesis. Slowly but surely, plans were drawn against them
Uther rode his charger across the moat into Camelot, the sounds of industry and preparation clamouring around him, Excalibur sheathed at his side. He was greeted by his chief adept as he dismounted:
"Merlin. What is the matter that you task us with today?"
"A most grave one, sire. The Holy Grail has gone missing from secure guard in New Hierusalem."
"But it is guarded by legions of the Angelic Host. Is this attack demonic in origin?"
His aged retainer shook his head: "No, my liege, for such would trigger all-out war between the Heavenly and Hadean realms. The sigils and markings indicate a far more present menace to ourselves- the High Sorceress Morgaine Le Fay."
"After all these years?"
"She survived the Battle of Camlann, sire, and has been biding her time in distant Avalon. Rumour and hearsay also have it that before he perished in battle against your parents, your cousin Mordred the Pretender took a bride."
"Aye, but it is just that. So, Lady Morgaine has what she thinks is the Grail."
"'Thinks,' sire?"
"A counterfeit, as she will learn should she ever try to compell sorceries from it. The real Cup of Our Lord is concealed in another dimensional realm where that malefactor cannot find it."
At Avalon, an infuriated Morgaine dashed the impotent Grail facsimile against a stone castle wall, bending it out of shape. Alura raised an eyebrow:
"Grandmother. We knew that the artefact would be difficult to obtain. Have patience."
"Why did my spells not ascertain that it was held outside our own universe, Alura? Why was I deceived?"
"I examined it after it proved to be ersatz. It has skilled markings which suggest elite sorcery."
"It cannot be that old fool, Merlin?"
"No, grandmother, it is not. I suspect the castings of Klingsor, late nemesis to Percival, senior knight of the Knights and Dames of the Round Table."
"That fool. How were the Heavenly hosts able to secure it, then? He was a darkmage, as are you and I?"
"Percival has the trick of purification, grandmother. He reconsecrated it for Heavenly use."
"Keep your counsel, my child. The Duke enters."
Duke Dazam passed the castle guard, nodding to his hosts:
"My ladies. I see the Grail gambit was flawed."
"It is held elsewhere, my friend, you are indeed correct. What of your own adventures, have they wrought better?"
"Ricopuerto, a tributary island to Nordameryne, has fallen into my hands. It will prove a useful base to strike at the mainland with."
"As long as Earth-359's authorities do not work out that we are the sources of the giant cannon we gifted unto you. Our agents elsewhere in the Multiverse are scrying for other provenance that could give you an edge in military prowess. There is some talk of steam-propelled vessels which could be within the grasp of our worlds if it comes to manufacture. Given that sail marks your technological apex at present, that would be excellent if true."
"We are an excellent partnership, my ladies. I shall request my own surveillance detachment undertakes more detailed scrutiny of the elseworlds, which may give us some clue to the actual location of the Grail."
On Earth-359, Terra Terruna felt every year of her past century of existence. She touched the marble memorial to Prince Stefan Trephoire, her consort for the last seventy years. She felt incomplete and leaden without her soulmate, even given the comfort of their daughter, Princess Troia. At some point, Terra pondered, she might well abdicate and surrender the Terruna monarch's longevity privilege. Troia was ready to take over. At times, she recalled "Wonder Woman", her alternate world identical counterpart and questioned what she might have thought about the unfolding of events. Had she lived too long? Against that, there was the undeniable love of her people and her sense of duty, to see things out until the bitter end. Troia said:
"Mother?"
"I fear that Duke Dazam is experiencing some resurgence. The fortress of Ricopuerto has fallen to his forces and they threaten our realm of Nordameryne."
"How did that happen? Unless the rumours that King Uther has told me are valid and that both Magicland and we are threatened by an alliance of Dazam and Morgaine LeFay. We are the oldest worlds in the multiverse, Mother. We can withstand this."
"Forgive me, Troia. I suddenly feel very tired and cankered."
"I miss father too, Mother. Prince Stefan was your partner in rule and love. He is a roughly torn hole in the fabric of our lives."
"Help me to bed, my child. We can converse about this before I hold court tomorrow."
"As you wish, Mother."
Uther stood before the Scrying Mirror as Troia took her seat at the other end of the interuniversal nexus:
"How went it?"
"I'm sorry, Uther. I tried to raise the issue with Mother, but she seems to have aged over night since father gave his life. She may be about to enter seclusion and retire from public life."
"At least you have the privilege of years with your parents, my love. I lacked that."
"It hasn't affected your wisdom and prudence, Uther."
"I have Merlin to thank for that, continuity with the Golden Age of Camelot."
"At times I feel that I too live after past glories. After all, my mother is High Princess Terra Terruna."
"Is it not up to us to forge glories anew then, Troia?"
"Uther, do you really think the incursion of new armaments and greatcannon into our world are the product of your ilk?"
"I do believe it, Troia. For all that Morgaine is a darkmage sorceress, she is also a pragmatist. She is a student of strategy and history."
And that night, battle was joined. Although Earth-359 had zeppelins for large scale air transit, they were cumbersome and liable to catastrophic deflation and aerial firestorms if not kept in suitable environments. Pearl City, in the allied Kingdom of Hawaii, was supposed to be one such idyllic location where major weather events did not threaten the behemoths of the air. However, they had no way of expecting an incursion from Magicland, or the unique evolutionary processes that gave rise to the creatures which beset them. Like the golden reptiloid pyrosaur that lifted above the clouds, a symbol of austere beauty as it flapped its way across the upper firmament. The passengers watched, entranced, as the creature flew beneath them, but then the moment of interest in the beast's grandeur and magnificence ended, as it opened its mouth and sprayed inflammable liquid at the dirigible. Altogether, one hundred and thirty people were either incinerated outright or lost their lives as they plummeted to the ground below without the assistance of parachutes.
As if in retribution, Magicland experienced its own turmoil, as a flock of thousands of normally peaceable centaurs were abruptly driven into frenzy and obliviousness to the harm that would ensue, stampeding across the Hellene peninsular plains and flattening screaming villagers as they coursed forward. The Knights and Dames of the Round Table and other international organisations for chivalry and justice faced the onrushing creatures:
"Remember," Merlin cautioned his younger allies, "the Centaurs have been driven to this by possibly eldritch means. They are not responsible for their actions and this is not deliberate."
"They do represent a menace. There are already several hundred innocents dead at their merciless hooves. Merlin, can your castings unravel the thaumaturgy which caused this?"
"They...appear to be faerie castings, sire."
Uther nodded: "My aunt and cousin."
"I can override this, but it will take time. However, the centaurs may have obliterated historic Leonidas before I can do so."
Lady Mariamne pointed:
"Look! Within the skies above! We have allies from afar!"
For Troia Terruna had taken matters into her own hands, and her vehicle plotted a downward intercept course for the centaur hordes as they pounded toward the historic city that had once been known as Sparta. Although Magicland had mastered some inaugural steps toward chemistry proper, it lacked the specific expertise to do what followed- spraying a canister of knock-out gas across the centaurs, causing them to slow to a halt and stumble on their feet, then sprawl and lie still on the savannah outside Leonidas. All of that was achieved without loss of life.
"Princess Troia, a word if I may?"
"We are indebted to your prompt attention, my lady." Merlin offered his hand, which Troia shook in weary response:
"Alas, we were not so fortunate. A dirigible, Queen Charlotte, was intercepted and destroyed above the capital of our ally, the Kingdom of Hawaii. There was heavy loss of life."
"Your tone suggests there is more to tell."
"Dragons are not native to our Earth, Uther."
"Someone is trafficking between our Earths."
In Camelot, Merlin was sweating with the effort required to penetrate the dimensional barriers, as his partner Nimue held his hand:
"Easy, my love. Morgaine is a powerful darkmage."
"What...is happening to me, Nimue? I...used to be able to do this effortlessly."
"You are several centuries old, Merlin. And Earth-359 is an alternate universe to our own. It is a two way traffic, we have established that. But why would Duke Dazam of that world and our own Morgaine and Alura Le Fay find common cause in this?"
"The longevity of both our Earths within the Multiverse, sire. On the level of hypertime, the time beyond time, Magicland and Earth-359 are amongst the 'oldest' in the Multiverse, having existed for several hypermillenia more than even Earths O and 33, the next oldest within our local multiverse cluster. They seem to be intent on capturing any cumulative energies from the emergence of our universes and harnessing them to malignant ends. Evidently, the Le Fayes have not given up their desire for hegemony over Magicland, while Duke Dazam may have similar motivations on our neighbouring alternate Earth." Merlin managed as he accepted mead from concerned Nimue.
"My liege?"
"Percival?"
"Our faerie allies in Venusburg have uncovered a most puzzling sigil from the Le Fay. The Lady Alura's one is riven in two, one imprinted in ebony, the other in alabaster."
"What means this?" Uther asked.
"Wait. I think I have this- it signifies duality, primal duality. In her consciousness, Alura must have two alternate personalities, one light and one dark. She must be a harbinger of the psychological condition called Dissociative Identity. That is logical, especially if her grandmother Morgaine drove her too far too young. Which may mean we can turn the young woman resident within Alura's body and appalled at its necromancy against her granddam and Duke Dazam..."
Within her host's body, Alura-White wrestled with Alura-Black for dominance over their shared body. Alura-Black tried to scream out for her grandmother's aid but Alura-White had control of her vocal chords. Slowly, but surely, Alura-White won the struggle and drew a shaky breath as she instantly warded. That turning had been more difficult. She needed to rest and hope that Morgaine would not realise that Alura-White was not her granddaughter and that they did not currently share a moral orientation.
Merlin touched Petraxea' hand on the Scrying Mirror as Earth-359's archmage stepped forward into Magicland's universe. Her robes swirled around her as she stepped nearer the aged sorcerer:
"You seem pallid, my lord Merlin."
"Nay, I am well, My Lady Petraxea. Or as well as can be expected."
"Could we not try a derangement spell?"
"In order to pitch our universes into the null-time continuum, certain adjustments needed to be made to the deep interstructures of both. The derangement spell of universe transit cannot be attempted on either of our universes. If it were to be attempted, there would be a total magickal, spatiotemporal, electromagnetic and gravitational collapse. Oblivion would consume both our worlds. No, we must fight Dazam, Morgaine and Alura on our own territories."
"How did we let these threats amass, My Lord Merlin? How could we have neglected them so?"
"We had other priorities, rebuilding both our worlds and their attendant universes after the Second Great Crisis made the multiverse possible once more and our worlds could leave the null-time continuum. It has nothing to do with your brave, heroic parents Gallicius and Nervaine, my dear Petraxea. They were adept, virtuous and sacrificed their lives so that your world might live."
"Dazam. That capering ape killed Good Prince Stefan and cost High Princess Terra her hearts desire. She has never been the same since that dark day thirty years since, Merlin. I swear I will not let his tyranny return and consume Nordameryne, or take the lives of High Princess Terra and the Heir Troia."
"Petraxea... I fear that some of us will perish in the oncoming storm."
"No. No, my lord. We can prevail. We will prevail."
"We may indeed, my child. But it may be at a terrible, tragic cost."
"How many more must perish, Merlin? King Arthur, Queen Guinevere, Lancelot, Prince Stefan, my own parents. No. Too many have been taken from us already."
"I admire your fire and passion, Lady Petraxea. However, do not underestimate the might of Morgaine and her granddaughter."
"Sooner or later, her darkmagick will consume her, though."
"Aye. But she has survived for decades, my child."
"My task is simpler. At least Dazam is mortal."
"He was a grave threat to Nordameryne and the rest of Earth-359 long ago. Be prudent and vigilant."
"As ever, My Lord, I value your mentorship and friendship. And advice."
When terror struck once again on Magicland, it was almost unexpected. Almost, because Morgaine's oneiromancy skills were somewhat inferior to those of Merlin, and in any case, the planned devastation would have fallen away from the territory of Albion and Camelot's immediate purview. However, under the rule of Camelot's ally, Prince Roland of Gallia, chivalry and freedom also prevailed across the Channel of Albion. It had been thus since the days of Charles the Great, Arthur and Guinevere's contemporary. Whereas the dragons were creatures of fire, the icthyosaurs that canoned forward against the harbours of Gallia were creatures of water. Which had made Morgaine betray her hand somewhat, due to overcalculation and vanity.
On Earth-359 too, there was an apparent setback. Unlike many of its equivalents, Earth-359's satellite was partially inhabitable and even had some primitive vegetation. Its Selenite inhabitants had tried to invade that Earth in its nineteenth century, but were felled by the greater gravitation and microbiota of their primary planet. However, this time, they used alternative measures that did not involve physical presence- a massive pinion of lunar material blasted off the Moon's uninhabited farside and hurtled toward the hapless world below, intent on maximum carnage- Holy Londinium itself. Troia Terruna's vehicle accelerated above the limb of her homeland, as Petraxea drew the essence from lunar rocks from the Cavor expedition of two centuries since and made a casting on the onrushing mass. It took every gram of effort from the two protectors and some observers below worried that the beloved Princess Troia was risking her life as her blessed father Prince Stefan had in times goneby. Ultimately, however, Petraxea's spell found its mark and the malign projectile cracked and splintered into rock fragments and then fine dust. An Amazonium magnet then scooped the particles upward and took them into Earth-359's Trojan asteroid cluster.
"Damned Dazam and his treacherous allies! It was a Holy Day, the Birth of Saviour Mary in the Christic tradition! Thousands would have been at worship!"
"i have had word from Uther. Morgaine and Alura struck at Gallia. And moreover, Merlin believes that this is an elemental spell. First Fire, then Water, then Air and lastly..."
"Earth. Is that what they are planning, I wonder? A strong elemental spell, which will have unpredictable consequences?"
Magicland's Avalon was abustle with activity. But as Morgaine made her preparations, Alura-White's mind was in turmoil:
What grandmother is planning... can it be? Can it be that she and her madman ally Dazam wish the destruction of both of our worlds, their histories and their humanities and paraspecies, merely to engineer an amalgam which privileges both? It would be as if the Pendragon and Terruna clans had never had their wise stewardship over either of our worlds. Aye. That is precisely her plan. How can I stop it, though? She has been at this malificence for decades. And then a voice spoke inside her mind...
-Do not be afeared, Alura the White.
-My Lord Merlin! How did you know of my existence?
-I am an adept, my child, as you are. Have no fear, but what I offer you is an opportunity to resist your granddam.
-She plans the immolation of both our worlds, my lord. She seeks the fusion of both of them into an ungainly hybrid and will reign over what remains. All that we held dear would not exist.
-Duke Dazam will strike at her when she is weakest, when the worlds are about to fuse.
-She will not be deterred, My Lord. I would take her on, but my mindsister Alura Black will intervene and try to regain control of our shared body.
-Fear not. I will shortly be with you, as will another icon and paragon of virtue.
When the end came, it came quickly. The environs of Camelot shuddered and there were chilling signs and portents in the skies above as the formerly distinct alternate universes of Earth-359 and Magicland began their convergence. When they reached vibratory fusion, two worlds would occupy the same spatiotemporal context and total gravimetric, electromagnetic and psionic collapse would occur. The resultant detonation would obliterate any matter within a parsec radius. However, Merlin and Terra Terruna had prepared for that contingency. Troia slammed open her mother's bedchamber doors to find that Terra was no longer there, while in Camelot, a heartbroken weeping Nimue mourned the loss of her lord and husband as the stunned Knights and Dames of the Round Table gazed at one another. Uther and Troia took immediate steps to contact their errant colleagues:
"Mother!" Troia sobbed.
"It is well, my daughter. We suspected that Morgaine might try something like this, and that Dazam might take advantage of her moment of weakness if it did. They forgot, Merlin was possessor of the eldritch forge that crafted Excalibur itself and could create tools that would repell this dire contingency from culmination."
"Do not mourn us, my liege. This is a neccessity. We must insure that this ploy fails and our Earths survive. There is only one way that this could be accomplished. We do this freely and without rancor."
"Are you ready, Alura White?"
"Aye, My Lord Merlin. The Nexus approaches. As we planned, I will insure my granddam and her collaborator in this foulness cannot interfere."
On a third alternate Earth elsewhere, Morgaine rounded on Dazam:
"So you thought you could take advantage of my momentary weakness for universal rule, did you?" Her eyes glowed crimson and her face contorted as the casting erupted from her. Dazam was encased in blinding light and flame from his former colleague and the screams echoed from him from a full minute after he died in supernatural agony. Morgaine turned from her murder of Dazam and then confronted her traitrous granddaughter. But she had trained Alura too well, and now the younger woman had the edge, knowing how to ward the older, potentially more powerful darkmage from interference in this context. As the final moments of convergence ticked away and the forms of both worlds began to firm into solidity, Merlin ignited the anvil and there was a moment of white fire and unknowing. Then, serenely, the two Earths rematerialised on their own orbital tracks, each in their own universes, but without their valiant and martyred protectors.
Morgaine Le Fay suffered a violent thaumaturgic backlash which sent her sanctuary Earth and its universe accelerating away from its thwarted prey. She lay in her castle's remnants, unmoving.
But on the two intact Earths, people mourned. The Knights and Dames of the Round Table sat around a funereal fire as Uther wept copiously for the loss of his mentor, friend and one of the few surviving links with his parents Arthur and Guinevere, as well as a bastion of chivalry and justice for the Kingdom of Great Albion. Somehow, the victory over the age-old nemesis of Morgaine Le Fay was rendered bittersweet by the magnitude of their loss, even if Alura the White had triumphed over her darkside personality and now promised much as the new Grandmage and Sorceress Supreme of Magicland. On Earth-359, millions assembled in Royaume City to mourn the loss of their guardian, protector and beloved queen, Terra Terruna. Troia had now lost both parents and felt an acheing void in her life, even as Petraxea drew stone and precious minerals together to commemorate Terra's life with a tall, imposing and resplendent statue at the entrance to Royaume City's harbour, a true statue of liberty. And that night, crossing over into Magicland, Troia and Uther fell into one another's arms and were not alone that night, nor forever more. Out of the tragedy that had befallen them, even if their Earths had been saved but their two mentors and inspirations lost, there was that.
THE END
On distant Earth-359, much the same thing happened. Earth-Two's Wonder Woman had met Terra Terruna, the High Princess of the Empire of Nordameryne on that world, enabling her to defeat Duke Dazam, despot, subversive and pirate. After Wonder Woman returned to her own Earth, Princess Terra married her beloved, Prince Stefan of Usaphea, and together, the couple had a daughter, Princess Troia. As time went on, the family fought many threats to the safety and security of their nation and homeland, until one fateful day in the Year of Our Lord and Lady One Thousand Nine Hundred and Eighty Five. Prince Stefan valiantly gave his life so that shadow demons might not triumph, giving Nordameryne's Archmage Galicius enough time to cast a null-time spell with comparable effects to that of Magicland. Both worlds resided together in an opaque null-time continuum, frozen like dragonflies in amber, until the resurrection of the multiverse and the return of multiple alternate universes.
Magicland and Earth-359 were "ancient" worlds, not in the sense of greater chronological age compared to their countless alternate counterparts, but in the sense that they had emerged from non-existence before Earths of subsequently greater probability. Their fabric groaned and sighed with thaumaturgy, and its practitioners were honoured individuals of high rank and respect on either Earth. Shortly after their emergence from null-time, Uther and Troia met at Camelot as a mutual defence pact was forged. Merlin related to the young king and princess that Morgaine Le Faye still drew breath, and Duke Dazam was nowhere to be found on Earth-359, either. With the loss of her beloved Stefan, Terra Terruna was seen less and less in public as she ceded more duties to her daughter and heir, Troia. in Magicland, peace, free trade, prosperity and equality prevailed under Uther's prudent and attentive rule. As time went on, diplomatic interaction mellowed into passionate love between the two children of legends.
As the decades went on and she trained her granddaughter to adeptness and potency in the dark arts, Morgaine relished the possibility of a second confrontation between the sanctimonious rulers of Camelot, and dominion over Magicland that would one day be hers, and that of her scion. Alura lacked her father's violent edge, but if possible, that made Morgaine's granddaughter even more of a threat than her father, given her coolness, focus and knowledge of the malign arts of her grandmother. Like a noxious weed, Morgaine's ambitions necrotised amidst the solitude and sanctuary of legendary Avalon anew. Unexpectedly, she welcomed a newcomer- Duke Dazam. who had used Words of Power to translocate himself from Earth-359 to Magicland. Dazam told Morgaine and Alura about his own nemesis. Slowly but surely, plans were drawn against them
Uther rode his charger across the moat into Camelot, the sounds of industry and preparation clamouring around him, Excalibur sheathed at his side. He was greeted by his chief adept as he dismounted:
"Merlin. What is the matter that you task us with today?"
"A most grave one, sire. The Holy Grail has gone missing from secure guard in New Hierusalem."
"But it is guarded by legions of the Angelic Host. Is this attack demonic in origin?"
His aged retainer shook his head: "No, my liege, for such would trigger all-out war between the Heavenly and Hadean realms. The sigils and markings indicate a far more present menace to ourselves- the High Sorceress Morgaine Le Fay."
"After all these years?"
"She survived the Battle of Camlann, sire, and has been biding her time in distant Avalon. Rumour and hearsay also have it that before he perished in battle against your parents, your cousin Mordred the Pretender took a bride."
"Aye, but it is just that. So, Lady Morgaine has what she thinks is the Grail."
"'Thinks,' sire?"
"A counterfeit, as she will learn should she ever try to compell sorceries from it. The real Cup of Our Lord is concealed in another dimensional realm where that malefactor cannot find it."
At Avalon, an infuriated Morgaine dashed the impotent Grail facsimile against a stone castle wall, bending it out of shape. Alura raised an eyebrow:
"Grandmother. We knew that the artefact would be difficult to obtain. Have patience."
"Why did my spells not ascertain that it was held outside our own universe, Alura? Why was I deceived?"
"I examined it after it proved to be ersatz. It has skilled markings which suggest elite sorcery."
"It cannot be that old fool, Merlin?"
"No, grandmother, it is not. I suspect the castings of Klingsor, late nemesis to Percival, senior knight of the Knights and Dames of the Round Table."
"That fool. How were the Heavenly hosts able to secure it, then? He was a darkmage, as are you and I?"
"Percival has the trick of purification, grandmother. He reconsecrated it for Heavenly use."
"Keep your counsel, my child. The Duke enters."
Duke Dazam passed the castle guard, nodding to his hosts:
"My ladies. I see the Grail gambit was flawed."
"It is held elsewhere, my friend, you are indeed correct. What of your own adventures, have they wrought better?"
"Ricopuerto, a tributary island to Nordameryne, has fallen into my hands. It will prove a useful base to strike at the mainland with."
"As long as Earth-359's authorities do not work out that we are the sources of the giant cannon we gifted unto you. Our agents elsewhere in the Multiverse are scrying for other provenance that could give you an edge in military prowess. There is some talk of steam-propelled vessels which could be within the grasp of our worlds if it comes to manufacture. Given that sail marks your technological apex at present, that would be excellent if true."
"We are an excellent partnership, my ladies. I shall request my own surveillance detachment undertakes more detailed scrutiny of the elseworlds, which may give us some clue to the actual location of the Grail."
On Earth-359, Terra Terruna felt every year of her past century of existence. She touched the marble memorial to Prince Stefan Trephoire, her consort for the last seventy years. She felt incomplete and leaden without her soulmate, even given the comfort of their daughter, Princess Troia. At some point, Terra pondered, she might well abdicate and surrender the Terruna monarch's longevity privilege. Troia was ready to take over. At times, she recalled "Wonder Woman", her alternate world identical counterpart and questioned what she might have thought about the unfolding of events. Had she lived too long? Against that, there was the undeniable love of her people and her sense of duty, to see things out until the bitter end. Troia said:
"Mother?"
"I fear that Duke Dazam is experiencing some resurgence. The fortress of Ricopuerto has fallen to his forces and they threaten our realm of Nordameryne."
"How did that happen? Unless the rumours that King Uther has told me are valid and that both Magicland and we are threatened by an alliance of Dazam and Morgaine LeFay. We are the oldest worlds in the multiverse, Mother. We can withstand this."
"Forgive me, Troia. I suddenly feel very tired and cankered."
"I miss father too, Mother. Prince Stefan was your partner in rule and love. He is a roughly torn hole in the fabric of our lives."
"Help me to bed, my child. We can converse about this before I hold court tomorrow."
"As you wish, Mother."
Uther stood before the Scrying Mirror as Troia took her seat at the other end of the interuniversal nexus:
"How went it?"
"I'm sorry, Uther. I tried to raise the issue with Mother, but she seems to have aged over night since father gave his life. She may be about to enter seclusion and retire from public life."
"At least you have the privilege of years with your parents, my love. I lacked that."
"It hasn't affected your wisdom and prudence, Uther."
"I have Merlin to thank for that, continuity with the Golden Age of Camelot."
"At times I feel that I too live after past glories. After all, my mother is High Princess Terra Terruna."
"Is it not up to us to forge glories anew then, Troia?"
"Uther, do you really think the incursion of new armaments and greatcannon into our world are the product of your ilk?"
"I do believe it, Troia. For all that Morgaine is a darkmage sorceress, she is also a pragmatist. She is a student of strategy and history."
And that night, battle was joined. Although Earth-359 had zeppelins for large scale air transit, they were cumbersome and liable to catastrophic deflation and aerial firestorms if not kept in suitable environments. Pearl City, in the allied Kingdom of Hawaii, was supposed to be one such idyllic location where major weather events did not threaten the behemoths of the air. However, they had no way of expecting an incursion from Magicland, or the unique evolutionary processes that gave rise to the creatures which beset them. Like the golden reptiloid pyrosaur that lifted above the clouds, a symbol of austere beauty as it flapped its way across the upper firmament. The passengers watched, entranced, as the creature flew beneath them, but then the moment of interest in the beast's grandeur and magnificence ended, as it opened its mouth and sprayed inflammable liquid at the dirigible. Altogether, one hundred and thirty people were either incinerated outright or lost their lives as they plummeted to the ground below without the assistance of parachutes.
As if in retribution, Magicland experienced its own turmoil, as a flock of thousands of normally peaceable centaurs were abruptly driven into frenzy and obliviousness to the harm that would ensue, stampeding across the Hellene peninsular plains and flattening screaming villagers as they coursed forward. The Knights and Dames of the Round Table and other international organisations for chivalry and justice faced the onrushing creatures:
"Remember," Merlin cautioned his younger allies, "the Centaurs have been driven to this by possibly eldritch means. They are not responsible for their actions and this is not deliberate."
"They do represent a menace. There are already several hundred innocents dead at their merciless hooves. Merlin, can your castings unravel the thaumaturgy which caused this?"
"They...appear to be faerie castings, sire."
Uther nodded: "My aunt and cousin."
"I can override this, but it will take time. However, the centaurs may have obliterated historic Leonidas before I can do so."
Lady Mariamne pointed:
"Look! Within the skies above! We have allies from afar!"
For Troia Terruna had taken matters into her own hands, and her vehicle plotted a downward intercept course for the centaur hordes as they pounded toward the historic city that had once been known as Sparta. Although Magicland had mastered some inaugural steps toward chemistry proper, it lacked the specific expertise to do what followed- spraying a canister of knock-out gas across the centaurs, causing them to slow to a halt and stumble on their feet, then sprawl and lie still on the savannah outside Leonidas. All of that was achieved without loss of life.
"Princess Troia, a word if I may?"
"We are indebted to your prompt attention, my lady." Merlin offered his hand, which Troia shook in weary response:
"Alas, we were not so fortunate. A dirigible, Queen Charlotte, was intercepted and destroyed above the capital of our ally, the Kingdom of Hawaii. There was heavy loss of life."
"Your tone suggests there is more to tell."
"Dragons are not native to our Earth, Uther."
"Someone is trafficking between our Earths."
In Camelot, Merlin was sweating with the effort required to penetrate the dimensional barriers, as his partner Nimue held his hand:
"Easy, my love. Morgaine is a powerful darkmage."
"What...is happening to me, Nimue? I...used to be able to do this effortlessly."
"You are several centuries old, Merlin. And Earth-359 is an alternate universe to our own. It is a two way traffic, we have established that. But why would Duke Dazam of that world and our own Morgaine and Alura Le Fay find common cause in this?"
"The longevity of both our Earths within the Multiverse, sire. On the level of hypertime, the time beyond time, Magicland and Earth-359 are amongst the 'oldest' in the Multiverse, having existed for several hypermillenia more than even Earths O and 33, the next oldest within our local multiverse cluster. They seem to be intent on capturing any cumulative energies from the emergence of our universes and harnessing them to malignant ends. Evidently, the Le Fayes have not given up their desire for hegemony over Magicland, while Duke Dazam may have similar motivations on our neighbouring alternate Earth." Merlin managed as he accepted mead from concerned Nimue.
"My liege?"
"Percival?"
"Our faerie allies in Venusburg have uncovered a most puzzling sigil from the Le Fay. The Lady Alura's one is riven in two, one imprinted in ebony, the other in alabaster."
"What means this?" Uther asked.
"Wait. I think I have this- it signifies duality, primal duality. In her consciousness, Alura must have two alternate personalities, one light and one dark. She must be a harbinger of the psychological condition called Dissociative Identity. That is logical, especially if her grandmother Morgaine drove her too far too young. Which may mean we can turn the young woman resident within Alura's body and appalled at its necromancy against her granddam and Duke Dazam..."
Within her host's body, Alura-White wrestled with Alura-Black for dominance over their shared body. Alura-Black tried to scream out for her grandmother's aid but Alura-White had control of her vocal chords. Slowly, but surely, Alura-White won the struggle and drew a shaky breath as she instantly warded. That turning had been more difficult. She needed to rest and hope that Morgaine would not realise that Alura-White was not her granddaughter and that they did not currently share a moral orientation.
Merlin touched Petraxea' hand on the Scrying Mirror as Earth-359's archmage stepped forward into Magicland's universe. Her robes swirled around her as she stepped nearer the aged sorcerer:
"You seem pallid, my lord Merlin."
"Nay, I am well, My Lady Petraxea. Or as well as can be expected."
"Could we not try a derangement spell?"
"In order to pitch our universes into the null-time continuum, certain adjustments needed to be made to the deep interstructures of both. The derangement spell of universe transit cannot be attempted on either of our universes. If it were to be attempted, there would be a total magickal, spatiotemporal, electromagnetic and gravitational collapse. Oblivion would consume both our worlds. No, we must fight Dazam, Morgaine and Alura on our own territories."
"How did we let these threats amass, My Lord Merlin? How could we have neglected them so?"
"We had other priorities, rebuilding both our worlds and their attendant universes after the Second Great Crisis made the multiverse possible once more and our worlds could leave the null-time continuum. It has nothing to do with your brave, heroic parents Gallicius and Nervaine, my dear Petraxea. They were adept, virtuous and sacrificed their lives so that your world might live."
"Dazam. That capering ape killed Good Prince Stefan and cost High Princess Terra her hearts desire. She has never been the same since that dark day thirty years since, Merlin. I swear I will not let his tyranny return and consume Nordameryne, or take the lives of High Princess Terra and the Heir Troia."
"Petraxea... I fear that some of us will perish in the oncoming storm."
"No. No, my lord. We can prevail. We will prevail."
"We may indeed, my child. But it may be at a terrible, tragic cost."
"How many more must perish, Merlin? King Arthur, Queen Guinevere, Lancelot, Prince Stefan, my own parents. No. Too many have been taken from us already."
"I admire your fire and passion, Lady Petraxea. However, do not underestimate the might of Morgaine and her granddaughter."
"Sooner or later, her darkmagick will consume her, though."
"Aye. But she has survived for decades, my child."
"My task is simpler. At least Dazam is mortal."
"He was a grave threat to Nordameryne and the rest of Earth-359 long ago. Be prudent and vigilant."
"As ever, My Lord, I value your mentorship and friendship. And advice."
When terror struck once again on Magicland, it was almost unexpected. Almost, because Morgaine's oneiromancy skills were somewhat inferior to those of Merlin, and in any case, the planned devastation would have fallen away from the territory of Albion and Camelot's immediate purview. However, under the rule of Camelot's ally, Prince Roland of Gallia, chivalry and freedom also prevailed across the Channel of Albion. It had been thus since the days of Charles the Great, Arthur and Guinevere's contemporary. Whereas the dragons were creatures of fire, the icthyosaurs that canoned forward against the harbours of Gallia were creatures of water. Which had made Morgaine betray her hand somewhat, due to overcalculation and vanity.
On Earth-359 too, there was an apparent setback. Unlike many of its equivalents, Earth-359's satellite was partially inhabitable and even had some primitive vegetation. Its Selenite inhabitants had tried to invade that Earth in its nineteenth century, but were felled by the greater gravitation and microbiota of their primary planet. However, this time, they used alternative measures that did not involve physical presence- a massive pinion of lunar material blasted off the Moon's uninhabited farside and hurtled toward the hapless world below, intent on maximum carnage- Holy Londinium itself. Troia Terruna's vehicle accelerated above the limb of her homeland, as Petraxea drew the essence from lunar rocks from the Cavor expedition of two centuries since and made a casting on the onrushing mass. It took every gram of effort from the two protectors and some observers below worried that the beloved Princess Troia was risking her life as her blessed father Prince Stefan had in times goneby. Ultimately, however, Petraxea's spell found its mark and the malign projectile cracked and splintered into rock fragments and then fine dust. An Amazonium magnet then scooped the particles upward and took them into Earth-359's Trojan asteroid cluster.
"Damned Dazam and his treacherous allies! It was a Holy Day, the Birth of Saviour Mary in the Christic tradition! Thousands would have been at worship!"
"i have had word from Uther. Morgaine and Alura struck at Gallia. And moreover, Merlin believes that this is an elemental spell. First Fire, then Water, then Air and lastly..."
"Earth. Is that what they are planning, I wonder? A strong elemental spell, which will have unpredictable consequences?"
Magicland's Avalon was abustle with activity. But as Morgaine made her preparations, Alura-White's mind was in turmoil:
What grandmother is planning... can it be? Can it be that she and her madman ally Dazam wish the destruction of both of our worlds, their histories and their humanities and paraspecies, merely to engineer an amalgam which privileges both? It would be as if the Pendragon and Terruna clans had never had their wise stewardship over either of our worlds. Aye. That is precisely her plan. How can I stop it, though? She has been at this malificence for decades. And then a voice spoke inside her mind...
-Do not be afeared, Alura the White.
-My Lord Merlin! How did you know of my existence?
-I am an adept, my child, as you are. Have no fear, but what I offer you is an opportunity to resist your granddam.
-She plans the immolation of both our worlds, my lord. She seeks the fusion of both of them into an ungainly hybrid and will reign over what remains. All that we held dear would not exist.
-Duke Dazam will strike at her when she is weakest, when the worlds are about to fuse.
-She will not be deterred, My Lord. I would take her on, but my mindsister Alura Black will intervene and try to regain control of our shared body.
-Fear not. I will shortly be with you, as will another icon and paragon of virtue.
When the end came, it came quickly. The environs of Camelot shuddered and there were chilling signs and portents in the skies above as the formerly distinct alternate universes of Earth-359 and Magicland began their convergence. When they reached vibratory fusion, two worlds would occupy the same spatiotemporal context and total gravimetric, electromagnetic and psionic collapse would occur. The resultant detonation would obliterate any matter within a parsec radius. However, Merlin and Terra Terruna had prepared for that contingency. Troia slammed open her mother's bedchamber doors to find that Terra was no longer there, while in Camelot, a heartbroken weeping Nimue mourned the loss of her lord and husband as the stunned Knights and Dames of the Round Table gazed at one another. Uther and Troia took immediate steps to contact their errant colleagues:
"Mother!" Troia sobbed.
"It is well, my daughter. We suspected that Morgaine might try something like this, and that Dazam might take advantage of her moment of weakness if it did. They forgot, Merlin was possessor of the eldritch forge that crafted Excalibur itself and could create tools that would repell this dire contingency from culmination."
"Do not mourn us, my liege. This is a neccessity. We must insure that this ploy fails and our Earths survive. There is only one way that this could be accomplished. We do this freely and without rancor."
"Are you ready, Alura White?"
"Aye, My Lord Merlin. The Nexus approaches. As we planned, I will insure my granddam and her collaborator in this foulness cannot interfere."
On a third alternate Earth elsewhere, Morgaine rounded on Dazam:
"So you thought you could take advantage of my momentary weakness for universal rule, did you?" Her eyes glowed crimson and her face contorted as the casting erupted from her. Dazam was encased in blinding light and flame from his former colleague and the screams echoed from him from a full minute after he died in supernatural agony. Morgaine turned from her murder of Dazam and then confronted her traitrous granddaughter. But she had trained Alura too well, and now the younger woman had the edge, knowing how to ward the older, potentially more powerful darkmage from interference in this context. As the final moments of convergence ticked away and the forms of both worlds began to firm into solidity, Merlin ignited the anvil and there was a moment of white fire and unknowing. Then, serenely, the two Earths rematerialised on their own orbital tracks, each in their own universes, but without their valiant and martyred protectors.
Morgaine Le Fay suffered a violent thaumaturgic backlash which sent her sanctuary Earth and its universe accelerating away from its thwarted prey. She lay in her castle's remnants, unmoving.
But on the two intact Earths, people mourned. The Knights and Dames of the Round Table sat around a funereal fire as Uther wept copiously for the loss of his mentor, friend and one of the few surviving links with his parents Arthur and Guinevere, as well as a bastion of chivalry and justice for the Kingdom of Great Albion. Somehow, the victory over the age-old nemesis of Morgaine Le Fay was rendered bittersweet by the magnitude of their loss, even if Alura the White had triumphed over her darkside personality and now promised much as the new Grandmage and Sorceress Supreme of Magicland. On Earth-359, millions assembled in Royaume City to mourn the loss of their guardian, protector and beloved queen, Terra Terruna. Troia had now lost both parents and felt an acheing void in her life, even as Petraxea drew stone and precious minerals together to commemorate Terra's life with a tall, imposing and resplendent statue at the entrance to Royaume City's harbour, a true statue of liberty. And that night, crossing over into Magicland, Troia and Uther fell into one another's arms and were not alone that night, nor forever more. Out of the tragedy that had befallen them, even if their Earths had been saved but their two mentors and inspirations lost, there was that.
THE END