Tales of the Lorekeepers 01 - Rise of the Red Dragon

her face became gentle again, warm and caring. She flew over to Myrddin and caressed his cheek with her tiny hand.
    “I’m sorry, Myrddin. I did not mean to scare you. My name is Angeline. I’m happy to meet you. I am indeed a friend and you have nothing to fear from me. Come, now that you are here, you might as well share your knowledge with us.”
    The words seemed to reassure the young boy and he smiled again before running happily to the tree where Samuel was sitting. The Lorekeeper knew that one day, this child would become a powerful wizard, but he was still just a kid, easily scared, but easily amused as well. Like every child his age, he enjoyed playing games and wanted to look up to adults.
    Samuel wondered if his meeting with Myrddin would influence the wizard in some way. He hoped not, but at the same time, he was almost wishing for it. Wouldn’t that be something to tell Lucian!
    “How much do you know about what is happening?” Angeline asked Myrddin. “How long have you been listening to us?”
    “Not for long, I assure you! I don’t know much—only that you are trying to find a bad man and prevent him from doing something terrible that would change our world.”
    “Can you help us find this man?” asked Samuel.
    “I’m afraid I can’t. Like you, he’s not from our universe. As I already told you, my visions only seem to include things and people from this world. I cannot tell you what this bad man’s actions are either, since nothing has changed yet. So far, I still see the same events unfolding for us. Every time I have had a vision about today and what’s going to happen, I see myself talking to Vortigern, and I reveal to him …”
    “Wait!” interrupted Samuel. He looked at Angeline. “Don’t tell me what’s to come, unless it helps prevent the plan of the bad man from playing out.”
    The fairy smiled back at the Lorekeeper. The student had learned the lesson.
    “Why not?” asked Myrddin.
    “Because then I might change things myself and could alter your world. If I were to do so, then I would be no better than the man we are trying to stop. He wants to change things, and I am trying to make sure they remain the same. Do you understand?”
    “Yes, I think I do. It would not have been any good to you anyway to know what I know. I’ve seen this day coming for a long time. Every time I see it in my head, it’s still the same vision. Nothing changes—not the slightest detail. It’s as if this bad man you are talking about does not exist.”
    “By the tail of pixie’s pig, I don’t get it,” exclaimed Angeline in frustration. “Why isn’t the story altered? Why are you not seeing a change in some way? It’s almost as if there is no one from the Yfel. It’s almost as if … as if you were sent here by mistake.”
    Samuel had previously thought the same thing. The more time that passed without any signs of an Yfel enemy, the more he wondered if this was not a mistake. Maybe this myth did not need saving. However, it would imply the dice had made a mistake by sending him here, something he could hardly believe to be possible. He was still relatively new to this whole Lorekeeper thing and how it worked, but if there was one thing he would not bet against, it was the dice’s intuition.
    Still, it did not make any sense. Samuel felt something was missing, a crucial clue that could help them solve the mystery that was the enemy’s plan. For the hundredth time, he recalled the events that had brought him here, hoping to find something he could have missed or a detail that had not seemed relevant at the time, but that could be crucial right now. He thought about King Vortigern and his advisor, Morghan. He remembered meeting the old man, on the morning before he departed to find Myrddin. He relived the tremors that had shaken the camp on the night before this meeting. He felt once more the fear that had enveloped his mind when the Saxons had attacked his companions and himself, not so long ago, and the relief he felt when Myrddin and his protectors came to their rescue. Finally, he thought of the true heir to the throne, Ambrosius Aurelianus, and his brother Uther Pendragon, protecting the young child who would become Merlin.
    His thoughts brought him back to Myrddin, who could see the future, but did not see anything useful. Maybe they were not asking the right questions. Maybe they had misinterpreted the answers. Maybe the answers were hidden in facts they already