EHYEH-ASHER-EHYEH (I AM THAT I AM): An Elena Duran/Corazon Negro
Vi Moreau (vmoreau@directvinternet.com)
Mon, 23 Sep 2002 09:48:49 -0400
Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh (I am that I am) 20.1/34
Julio Cesar divad72@prodigy.net.mx
Vi Moreau vmoreau@directvinternet.com
"Yes, it is time," Zarach agreed. "To understand fully the menace presented
by Lilitu, we must delve into the darkest secrets of the mythical tome known
as the Kabbalah. There, hidden in a language so obscure that only the most
dedicated scholars can unravel it, are many of the so-called basic truths
about our world and its creation."
An odd look passed across Methos' features. His eyes widened, as if seeing
something not visible to anyone else in the aircraft. He gazed at Myrddin.
Aylon, sensitive as the most, saw Heru-sa-aset tilt his head as if answering
an unspoken question.
Zarach continued. "According to tradition, these fragments once formed part
of the Book of Enoch. But those sections had been lost for thousands of
years. Unfortunately, they were recovered by Lilitu."
"Well? What did they say?" Methos inquired.
Zarach grumbled, the tone of his voice indicating that he was anything but
happy. "Supposedly, in the beginning, God said 'Let there be light' and
there was light. Afterward, he created the heavens and the earth. However,
if there was a need for light, originally there must have been darkness. Why
darkness? The answer is simple. Before our world there were other worlds.
Our universe was not the first created by God. There have been other
spheres. How many, I have no idea. The text said others existed, but they
were destroyed, either by God or by their inhabitants."
"Inhabitants?" asked Myrddin. "People existed before our world?"
"Inhabitants, yes," said Zarach. "People, no. God created the denizens of
each sphere in his image. However, as God was all encompassing, the forms of
those beings were not the same as ours. Not even the substance."
"The substance?" repeated Methos. "They were wraiths?"
"Those beings who inhabit this plane of existence, this other dimension,
have form and shape," said Zarach. "Human and Immortals, we are creatures of
flesh and blood. Some say that demons and faeries when they manifest
themselves take on physical form as well. Burt the inhabitants of the Dream,
creations of psychic energies, and wraiths, spirits of the dead, just have
tangible presences on our world. According with the Book of Enoch, this fact
was not always true for those spheres of reality that existed before our
own."
"You are talking about the broken spheres," Aylon said softly.
"That is the name given to those earlier universes," said Zarach. "For
though they were destroyed, nothing created by God and thus touched by his
presence can be totally annihilated. Fragments of those other realities
still exist outside our universe. And dwelling on them are creatures totally
alien to our dimension."
"I am beginning to have a very bad feeling about this story," said Methos.
"The news," Zarach answered, his features drawn, "is worse than you can
image. If we are going to believe the Book of Enoch, our reality and those
broken spheres just intersect by way of the Dream. The universes have no
points in common, if not through the Dream. Travel between this world and
those that existed, is nearly impossible. But using the proper ritual, an
inhabitant from one plane can be transported to another."
"I see," Myrddin affirmed sadly. "Lilitu is walking inside the Dream! She is
using some kind of tunnels-so to speak-inside the other world. These
passages allow her to appear in determinate places at will-or almost."
Everybody remained in silence, pondering the weight of the facts. "The fate
of the world depends upon us stopping Lilitu," said Methos. "How much time
do we have left? If the facts weren't so grim, I think I'd find them
amusing."
"These beings of the Dream," said Myrddin. "Do they have a name?"
"They are the dwellers in the outermost dark," answered Zarach. "They are
called the Sheddim."
Resting his massive arms on his lap, Aylon leaned forward, his gaze sweeping
across those present. "Lilitu will try to bring them into our reality. I
don't see where we have much choice. She must be destroyed before she
succeeds. And we're the only ones who have any chance of victory."
"The odds," said Myrddin dryly, "appear heavily weighed in her favor."
"Our position does seem quite desperate," added Methos.
"I agree," Aylon spoke again. "Still, we either sit back and wait for the
apocalypse, or try our best to prevent it. I'm not the waiting type, never
have been, never will be. I plan to kill Lilitu or perish trying."
"I always considered terrible odds a challenge," said Myrddin.
"I feel the exact same way about desperate situations," said Heru-sa-aset.
"Now, what do we know for sure about the Dream?"
Myrddin tapped his computer. "As far as I know, the other world is not
always open-according to Quetzalcohuatl-not for him, not even for Lilitu,"
he said after a while. "So, she must retain her physical form somewhere."
"In the so-called island of Nod," Methos said. "The Hunters' main
stronghold."
"Exactly," the Druid agreed.
"And how are we going to find such place?" Aylon asked. His gaze was fiery.
Obviously, he was eager again to step into the battlefield.
Myrddin tapped on his computer again. His fingers flew over the keyboard.
"There could be certain places where the Dream is almost constantly open.
Over the last five hundred years, as you all know, strange events had
occurred in the 'Bermuda or Devil's Triangle'," he said seriously. "It is an
imaginary area located off the southeastern Atlantic coast of the United
States, which is noted for a high incidence of unexplained losses of ships."
"This is great!" Methos said with mocking suspicion. "Are you serious? Now
you're going to tell us that we Immortals are aliens, cast away from our
original planet as punishment?"
"No, I don't know from where you got that bizarre idea," Myrddin said
grinning. "What I want to say is that the Dream manifests itself toward
certain places in this earth. Countless theories attempting to explain the
many disappearances in such spot like the Bermuda Triangle have been offered
throughout the history of the area. The most practical seem to be
environmental and those citing human error. The majority of disappearances
can be attributed to the area's unique environmental features. First, the
'Devil's Triangle' is one of the two places on earth that a magnetic compass
does point towards true north. Normally it points toward magnetic north. The
difference between the two is known as compass variation. The amount of
variation changes by as much as 20 degrees as one circumnavigates the earth.
If this compass variation or error is not compensated for, a navigator could
find himself far off course and in deep trouble. Miami's Coast Guard is not
impressed with supernatural explanations of disasters at sea. It has been
their experience that the combined forces of nature and unpredictability of
mankind outdo even the most far fetched science fiction scenarios many times
each year."
"Well, now you're making sense," Methos granted him. "You know what? On
second thought, just an idiot would imagine we Immortals came from
out-space, I must admit," he added smiling openly this time.
Zarach looked at Myrddin. "As always with you, that's not all, right?"
Myrddin nodded toward the two-colored eyes Immortal. "The Bermuda Triangle
is not the only place on earth that shows these characteristics. An area
called the 'Devil's Sea' by Japanese and Filipino seamen, located off the
east coast of Japan, also exhibits the same magnetic characteristics. It is
also known for its mysterious disappearances. Within this area, say the
ancient tales, dragons dwell in undersea palaces, their movements churning
up waves even on windless days. Sailors say they have heard strange noises
here, while at night, eerie red lights as bright as the sun could be seen
shining over the water from hundreds of miles away. Most powerful of all is
the dragon king of the Western Sea, Li-Lung, whose underwater palace is
splendidly furnished with treasures from ships he has sunk. Legend aside, in
the last decades the Dragon's Triangle has continued to claim victims. There
are no survivors to tell tales and no identifiable wreckage to examine."
"How convenient," Methos said in low tones. "But now you're talking about
Godzilla."
"Well, yes, it sounds like that, but no," Myrddin said. "My point is,
gentlemen, that I think the Dream manifested itself through such places. And
that's not all. There are in total twelve 'vertices'-or 'centers' if you
will-of magnetic anomalies scattered throughout the world, all of them
placed between 36 degrees in both north and south parallels."
Myrddin turned his computer and showed them. A detail map showed the twelve
points he had referred scattered throughout the earth. "As you can see, one
of these vertices is placed very near Eastern Island, in the Pacific Ocean.
I have the feeling that the island of Nod is around the area."
"That's very near where Corazon Negro and the others will be!" Methos
exclaimed in a high tone this time.
"I know, but it makes sense," Myrddin affirmed. "Remember the words of
Corazon Negro when he felt Lilitu's presence at Connor's house, after the
Berserkers attack? He said that Lilitu was in the south."
"We can't worry about the others right now," Zarach said closing his eyes.
Obviously this wasn't easy for him. "Our main goal is to destroy Lilitu.
Let's not forget that. We can only hope that Elena and the MacLeods are
skilled warriors and they will defend the Dreamer in his sleep."
"What exactly is what Corazon Negro is going to attempt?" Methos asked, his
voice unsure. He eyed his companions. "Anyone?"
Myrddin deeply sighed. "The way I see it, he is going to open a gate toward
the Dream. His soul-I mean his essence, so to speak-is going to enter the
other world in order to find Lilitu's fundamental nature, the part of hers
that controls the far beyond. I cannot say if the Dreamer is going to
destroy her in there, or if he is merely to cast her away from it. But
either way, I suspect
that afterwards, he is going to close the Dream somehow. That way, Lilitu
will be just like us. Without the power of the other world, her own powers
will be diminished."
"That is if Corazon Negro managed to eradicate her out of the Dream. What if
not?" Methos prompted.
"In that case, is after us," Zarach declared. His voice was tired. His face
was worried.
"What if we find the island of Nod and nuke it?" Methos inquired again, his
gaze flying over his partners.
"Is not as simple as that," Heru-sa-aset announced. "We are carrying six
nukes with us. However, we cannot risk that the possibility Lilitu escapes.
She could manage to enter the Dream somehow, even with the interference of
the Dreamer. As I see it, the only way to be absolutely sure about her death
is in the traditional way. We must behead her in person. Nuking the island
should be our last resort."
"Well, I never planned to get that close," Methos stated grinning.
"First things first," Heru-sa-aset finished. "Myrddin, find that clandestine
airstrip in Mexico. After we leave the pilot, we should go after Lilitu. In
the mean time," he said eyeing his comrades-in arms, "I strongly suggest
you, my friends, try to sleep a while. You look like a bunch of old
fossils."
"Excuse me," Methos answered. "But that's exactly what we are!"
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