Mists of Time and Myths of Places Lost

[Gabriel Ravenlock]

The Third Gate of Avalon, during the reign of Uther Pendragon

He approached the Gate on foot. Most would have ridden a horse, but he preferred to go by his own legs. They had served him well throughout his existence, and he didn't hold well with making any other creature bear his burdens.

The Gate, of course, was not an actual, physical gate, but rather a place where the veil between worlds was thin. Shrouded in mist and shadows, the crossing place appeared different to each person that used it. Some found a stone archway, some a simple path, others a doorway of light. His own version was of stepping between trees hung with thick vines. As he approached the path leading to it, he saw a figure stepping out of the mists. Slender of stature but strong and proud in her bearing, her thick mass of dark curls hanging about her face, indigo eyes peering out at him with a light dancing in them he always thought of as being impishly playful. He offered her a bow as he came to a halt before her.

"My lady Morgaine. I came as swiftly as I was able."

Her lips curled upwards in a smirk. "If you say so. I'll bet Vivienne will say otherwise."

His expression didn't change as he looked at her. "It was at her behest that I was so far away."

An eyebrow ticked up as she nodded. "I know. She keeps you away from the Isle a lot, I understand. Why do you think that might be?"

He shook his head. "I could not say. If I were to guess, however? It is because I am a demon, and she does not trust me as such." He shrugged his indifference. "It is a prejudice I am familiar with."

She nodded, her expression somewhat thoughtful. "Maybe, but I don't think that's it. No...I think it's because of your attitude towards her."

He felt the puzzlement show in his features. "My attitude? I treat her no differently than I do anyone else."

She nodded again. "Exactly. Nearly everyone around her treats her like she is the Mother Goddess herself, but you treat her like a person. You're supposed to love her above all else, like everyone else does."

"Oh." He thought about that a moment, then shook his head. "I have felt such a thing only once. I do not think I am capable of feeling that way for anyone again, Morgaine." It was his turn to arch an eyebrow. "And yet you do not treat her the way everyone else does, either, I have observed."

Her smirk made the light in her eyes seem even more impish. "Yes. Probably one of the reasons I like you so well, Lupinius."

He afforded her another bow, a faint smile on his features, before he turned and stepped into the mist around the gate.

At once he was enfolded in them, the swirling vapors and shadows almost seeming to have weight as they pressed against him, demanding. He held up his hands at it, his musical voice almost muffled in the mists. "Apologies. I was ordered away on business of the Isle, my friend."

Almost immediately the pressure eased, the mists seeming to dance around him. "I am happy to be back, as well. Now...where is she?" The mists seemed to freeze for a moment, then began moving, but slowly, haltingly. "Please, my friend. You cannot hold her here forever." The mists moved like soup for another moment more, then finally swirled around him in a cyclonic movement to reveal his wooded path nearby. He slipped between the trees, the vines parting curtain-like before him.

He came to a halt as he saw what they revealed, staring for a moment. There, wrapped in thick vines and suspended upside down in the middle of the path, limbs splayed outward, was Vivienne, High Priestess of Avalon and Lady of the Lake. A detached part of him wondered what she saw as being her trap in this place. The mists danced lightly around them again, and he could almost feel the laughter in it.

He tried to hide the momentary hilarity he felt, but something of it must have crept through, because as she caught sight of his face she glared at him and spoke in a disdainful voice. "Do you think this is funny? I have been trapped inside this gate for days. It took you long enough to get here."

He managed to recompose himself and moved towards her. "I apologize, my Lady of the Lake. As you know, I was in Cornwall. And I do not ride if I do not have to."

"If you do not have- Were you not told the nature of what was happening?" She managed to wave an arm at him. "Never mind. Just help me down, please, Guardian."

He looked at the mists swirling around them both. "She said 'please,' my friend."

With a smooth motion the vines began to unwind from around her, slowly lowering her to the path and turning her to set her on her feet. As she straightened out her robes and her hair, she gave the Guardian an unreadable look. "I...thank you, Sir." And with that the mists swirled around her and she was swept away into Avalon.

He remained in the path a moment longer, looking around him. The mists swirled in slow, meandering whorls and waves of smooth, peaceful motion. As he went back the way he came, he spoke softly to the mists. "I missed you too, friend. But maybe try not to antagonize the High Priestess in the future."