Machia Veil Timeline
11:55 pm, August 31st – Canegorms National Park, Scottishland
Nate and Kenya gazed up into the majestic blanket of stars. Nate inhaled, grinning and stretching his arms.
They flew through small pockets of mist.
Nate shivered in awe at the majestic landscape surrounding them.
Boulders and rocks dotted the landscape.
Native pine trees surrounded them in every direction, their scent filling the air.
“I have wings on my back! Woo-hoo!” Kenya hooted.
“Wow,” said Nate.
“This is unbelievable!“ she said as they soared over the Scottishlands.
***
Kenya drew Nate’s attention, pointing west. “It’s the third lake to the west. That should be the Loch Lorian!”
“But wait. We need a landing field.”
“Over there!” said Kenya.
They began their descent in zigzags until they had a long glide landing. But because of the dim lighting, it was hard to know when they would hit the ground.
“Too fast! Too fast!“ screamed Kenya, not wanting to look.
“Breathe, we’re safe,” said Nate, aiming for a smooth landing.
They landed stumbling.
Kenya was immobile.
“Kenya! Are you okay?”
She was tongue-tied.
“Kenya! Talk to me!”
Her eyes were wide. “That was a-ma-zing!”
“Hahaha.”
With a slight limp, they crossed a stone bridge. Ahead of them, tall and imposing pine trees towered, as though they were giant guards protecting the sacred space. Kenya placed her hand on her breastbone. With her other hand, she pointed. “That is the Lady of the Loch.”
Nate surveyed the area, trying to make out the silhouettes of a person or cottage. There was only an old rusty steamboat. A circle of tall, dark trees and bushy shrubs surrounded the boat at the base of the mountain.
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“Where is she?”
“There! The boat.”
“The boat is the Lady of the Loch?” he paused. A forgotten relic! “You knew it was a boat?”
“Would you have come if I told you it was an abandoned boat?” she smiled. “But it isn’t. It’s a bridge.”
“A boat bridge?”
“Yes.”
Kenya brushed aside the twigs around the boat. It was a wreck.
“It will get you across,” she said.
“How?”
“I’ll help you. You’ll see. Let’s go in.”
“No way! I’m not drowning in a boat wreck. Forget it.”
“Have faith, trust me!”
Nate climbed with caution; his eyes drawn to the barnacles on the boat’s side.
She led him to the main deck. There was a plaque. On it was writing. The engraved letters stood in stark contrast against the Verdigris bronze.
“You read it,” said Kenya.
Nate inhaled. “Reading will help us cross?”
“Yes.”
Nate rolled his eyes. “Okay.”
“To north and south,” he read.
“To east and west reversed.
By my honour, hear my verse,
That I may serve in heart and soul,
With reverence and flow.
As for King Arthur’s code.
My Lady of Grace, my heart embrace.”
The boat lit up, and Kenya disembarked.
Water trickled from the tree branches. At first, a drizzle. But the trickle grew into a downpour. With each passing moment, the gusts of wind grew more forceful. The downpour became a raging storm that pelted down on them. Small branches whipped around them. Nate’s knuckles turned white as he clung to the bridge of the boat, trying to steady himself. The boat rocked back and forth on the unsteady waves, threatening to throw him overboard.
“The storm is just resistance. Hurry!“ she cried. “Keep reading! Cross before lighting strikes!” she said, wiping her eyes.
“What? No! Come with me!”
“You don’t understand!”
“I understand you’re afraid. You can’t predict what will lie ahead,” shouted Nate.
“I do, you see. I do. No wimps allowed. I failed.”
“You’re drenched! Jump in!“ shouted Nate over the roaring storm.
Lightning hit the side of the boat. They jumped.
“This is crazy, go! Or you will die!”
“I’m not leaving you alone!” he said, blinded by the rain.
Kenya said something else, but the winds swallowed her words.
Rocks lit up. A light swirled in the distance, entrancing Nate.
Kenya closed her eyes.
Nate teared his gaze away from the beckoning light. In a split decision, he wrestled with his balance as he stepped off the boat. He enveloped Kenya in a tight embrace. Every fibre of his being resisted letting her go.
The moment Nate set foot on land, the winds ceased their howling and the pouring rain tapered off into a drizzle.
“See? It was just resistance. You must go!“ said Kenya.
“I’m not leaving you alone here.”
***
Something shifted in the shadows. Nate studied the movement.
People rushed towards them.
“Archs!” they said in tandem.
They leaped back onto the boat.
“Hurry, the incantation. We must cross, now!” said Kenya.
This time, they chanted together.
“To north and south,
To east and west reversed.
By my honour, hear my verse,
That I may serve in heart and soul,
With reverence and flow.
As for King Arthur’s code.
My Lady of Grace, my heart embrace.”
The light from the boat was so bright it forced them to shield their eyes.
The storm whipped up in a frenzy, unleashing a torrent of rain and wind.
As the boat transformed, swirls of light enveloped them like dancing clouds of mist. The storm dissipated. In the boat, it was graceful and peaceful. Gradually, the light faded.
A swishing sound called Nate’s attention. Kenya’s back was ablaze with swathes of light. “What’s happening?” asked Nate.
“You have it too,” she said. “You’re lighting up.”
The luminosity was so dazzling that it rendered him speechless.
As they crossed the boundary between Machia and One, a song broke out in the distance.