CHAPTER 3

It was time for the Elders to decide.

In every age, the Council of Elders had chosen individuals worthy enough to use the powers of the Talismans. It was not something to be taken lightly.

Those chosen had to be extraordinary humans; and have evidence of a strong spirit. It normally took years of study by a member of the Council to track down those that could be the ones to become the new guardians of the Talismans, and even then it was not always a case of the individuals being right for their new-found roles.

The last four chosen had given up their powers for various reasons. One wished to become more a part of his earthly life, to live with his wife and child in New York State and not have to deal with the dangers of such responsibilities. Another wished to use the power for personal gain. His actions were noted by the Council, and when bought before them in question of his use of the Talisman, he reluctantly surrendered his rights back to the Elders. A third found a new way of live and, not wanting to abuse the power as he considered it an unfair advantage in his quest for enlightenment, returned his Talisman to the Council. The last of the guardians had always abided by the laws of the Council, and knew that the parting of the four Talismans for any length of time was not part of the continuous cycle. When the other three had been returned, he gave the final Talisman back willingly.

As to the reasons for the Talismans, and as to the reasons for the Council to give without question such power to mere humans, they were locked up inside the answers that only the Elders themselves knew. For it was not just a case of giving these individuals powers for the right or the strong; it was a quest to see where such powers would lead the humans. It was not a battle of good and evil, but a choice of good and evil. The Elders' duty was not to the greater good of mankind, but the destiny of mankind, for the outcome of every Dynasty was not in the hands of the Elders but in those of the guardians. Some found greatness, some failure; some found the rewards of life, some the horrors of existence. Some lived. Some died.

All inched the destiny of mankind a step further.

As to the reasons that the Elders would even bother with such a quest. . .well, even that had been lost to the Elders over time. It was simply what was done.

Five years had passed since the Talisman had been returned. Five years had been spent looking for new guardians to take on the roles. Now had come the time for the Council of the Elders to meet once again in the capital and vote on the new guardians.

The choosing of the guardians was conducted in the Main Chamber of the Council's capital building. The capital was decorated in a chaotic mixture of the various styles of Earth; for, although they merely studied the Human Race, over time the Elders have adopted pieces of this forgettable culture into their own. Roman and Greek-inspired architecture; with touches of Victorian design; dominated the hall leading to the Main Chamber, which was patterned after early American decor mixed with Egyptian styles and a touch of the Viking period. Strangely, the various styles had been successfully blended, although the overall impact visually was intimidating and somewhat stuffy. In fact, no one was particularly fond of the capital, and its only purpose was for very important matters. Any other business was handled out of the homes or individual chambers of the Elders.

Members of the Council moved through the long corridors of the capital toward the Main Chamber, some stopping to discuss other matters that seemed a bit more important than that of the guardians. Each member had on his finest attire, though no two wore the same type of dress. Nor was there a visual ranking of individuals above any others in the group. Clothing was chosen by the individual, and like the capital itself was composed of many different styles of Earth.

A tall man in a late-twentieth century, black business suit entered the main hall, carrying a neat stack of files. He moved with dignity, his face straight ahead and his eyes avoiding the look of the others around him. His dark hair was modestly cut and had traces of grey near the temples. There was also grey scattered throughout his neatly-trimmed beard and carefully clipped moustache.

He moved at a brisk pace and was almost to the Main Chamber door as a smaller man approached him from his left.

"Hello, Blackwell," the shorter man said. A smirk rose on his face as he came closer to the other man. "Dressing like a militant again? Must be terribly hot in that suit of yours."

Blackwell turned to the other man as he laid his right hand on the handle to one of the Main Chamber's doors.

"Ah, good evening, Morpheus," Blackwell replied with a cold, hard smile. "I see that you have decided to make an appearance at the meeting after all."

Besides the emphasis on the word "appearance," Blackwell restrained himself from making a comment about Morpheus' clothing. It was too ludicrous to even breath a mention of it. Morpheus' clothes were not that of any period of Earth, but rather a combination of many styles that, unlike the capital's appearance, did not look even remotely coordinated in any way. He wore Bermuda shorts underneath a belt of animal skins, sandals, a rumpled Victorian shirt and a smoking jacket. An unruly mop of hair and snow-white beard completed his outlandish appearance.

Ignoring Blackwell's comment, Morpheus stepped up to Blackwell. He lowered his voice as he spoke. "I trust you received the messages I sent you."

"I trust you received the tiny shreds I promptly made of them, " Blackwell said, still smiling.

"Yes. I just wanted to make sure that you had read them yourself, instead of letting one of your flunkies do it for you."

Seeing that Morpheus was not about to end the conversation quickly, Blackwell stepped away from the door so that others could file through. He shuffled through his files, avoiding Morpheus' glare. "Oh, I read them. . and I must say, I found your pathetic threats quite amusing."

"I take it then that you're planning to announce your choices for guardians at the meeting?"

"Of course, my dear Morpheus," Blackwell responded, seemingly absorbed in his files as he spoke. "The task of finding four candidates for consideration as guardians was given to me years ago by the Council and I feel I have found the four people right for the positions. My word is enough, and nothing you say will have any effect on the Council's final decision."

"Listen, Blackwell," Morpheus words came out so low that they almost hissed from his lips. "What you are doing is wrong. I cannot allow you to violate the code of the Elders in this manner, and I will fight you in any way I can. There's still time for you to change your mind. If not, it will be you that suffers."

Blackwell snapped the file shut he was looking at and turned to Morpheus. "As I have already told you, there is nothing you can do to convince me of your position. There is nothing you have to even prove this ludicrous idea of yours. No one will believe that I would attempt to misuse my rank in the Council, even if it were true."

"Now," he continued, the cold smile returning to his face, "the Council is ready to proceed with this meeting. I suggest we enter before they start without us. Would not want to start the campaign for the new guardians off on the wrong step, would we?"

He bowed to Morpheus. "After you."

Morpheus walked quickly into the room, around the number of chairs lining the hall and up the stairs of the small platform that held the Council's main table. As he sat off to the right of the table with a few other individuals that were considered notable enough to be on the stage, yet not enough to be at the table; Blackwell moved directly around the table and took his place to the left of the center chair there.

Watching all of this calmly was a man seated at the center of the table. His style of clothing was bit more like Blackwell's, although with a bit more flair and of an earlier era in the Earth's twentieth century. In fact, to those who knew the eras of Earth, it tinged of what a schoolmaster must have worn at the turn of the century so long ago. It certainly did mingle well with the regalness that the man showed as he rose from his chair to begin the meeting.

A hush fell over the room as he began speaking in a clear, deep voice. "My fellow Council members, as Chairman I am here to welcome you all to this very important occasion. There is no need to put on an air of ceremony about our task, as we all know that today 's vote will not be an easy one. The last four guardians abandoned their task rather recklessly over time, and we had assumed that their positions would have lasted much longer when we voted for them."

The Chairman looked over to Morpheus quickly and thoughtlessly, but it was enough to make Morpheus shift with regret in his seat.

"Four years ago, a new evaluation was started, and another member of the Council was assigned the privilege of finding individuals to carry on the tradition and duties of the Talismans. He is here with us today to show us who he has picked for such roles and their qualifications. Your votes today will decide if these individuals, although only humans, will become a part of the great force which controls the chain of human events. I can only ask of you to listen carefully and vote wisely. Blackwell?"

The Chairman sat as Blackwell rose to his feet and opened his first file that he had placed carefully on the table. Studying the file for a brief moment, he finally raised his head and smiled.

"Chairman, members of the Council, friends. As you've just heard, I feel that I have located the four humans worthy of this great responsibility. At first you may not feel much about their chances; but I feel that they will be able to prove themselves. More importantly, I feel that they will be able to use the Talismans' power for the advancement of their race and for the good of all."

With a motion of his head, the room darkened and a holographic image of a small human being lit up brightly in the center of the room before Blackwell and the Council. No one took any notice of the sudden appearance of the image; yet, Blackwell could feel a slight change in the facial expressions of his fellow Council members. He hesitated slightly, unsure of if it was just his imagination or if it really was something more, then he proceeded.

"Abner Deveraux, co-owner of a corporation developing high advanced robotics --"

It was the last word Blackwell spoke before the Chairman rose from his seat.

"Discontinue the projection." The Chairman said in a grave voice.

The image disappeared quickly and the lights were brought up once again as the Chairman continued.

"Blackwell?"

Blackwell, a bit confused over the abrupt nature of the Chairman, stood silently away from the Chairman.

"Blackwell," the Chairman began again, as he saw that Blackwell was not about to turn towards him. "I wish to speak with you privately for a moment."

The Chairman walked around the table and in front of Blackwell. He did not look at Blackwell, merely continued on his way to a small, private room off to the far side of the Chamber. He opened the door and walked in, leaving the door open for Blackwell to follow.

With a bit of flush on his face, Blackwell picked up his folders. He drew himself up to his full height and stared at the members of the Council before him. Nodding quickly, he turned and walked toward the room. Upon reaching it, he closed the door behind him.

He saw the Chairman facing away from him. Once the click of the door was heard, the Chairman swayed his body towards Blackwell. He moved slowly towards Blackwell and kept his voice low as he spoke.

"I see that you did not heed the advice of your colleague. I had hoped this would not be necessary, but it appears that I must expose this treachery. Morpheus?"

It was first time Blackwell had noticed that Morpheus was also in the room, off in a far corner. It was also the first time Blackwell had ever really noticed Morpheus in any significant way. Blackwell's eyes turned to slits as Morpheus approached the other two.

"Several days ago, Morpheus spoke to me about your plans. He told me you were plotting to make use of the Talismans and the Guardians to accomplish your own selfish goals."

"Surely," Blackwell almost chuckled the words as he spoke them, "you don't believe the rambling of this lunatic. He merely wishes to drag down another member of the Council due to his own failures from the time before. How he can justify his accusations against not only another member of the Council, but one of my rank, must plainly show to you that he is not thinking with any other thoughts than that of revenge."

"At first," the Chairman said, "I too felt such ideas were impossible to believe. However, for the sake of the Council I decided to have other members examine the histories of those you have chosen for the Guardianships. All were found to have sadistic tendencies and would stop at nothing to get what they wanted. Proof also came to me that you intended to give the powers of the Talismans to these people in order to manipulate and, eventually, to gain control of the Council."

"You have no proof," Blackwell spitted out.

"We have a signed confession from one of your main assistants." Morpheus held out a piece of paper to Blackwell.

Blackwell snatched the paper away from Morpheus, his face twisting into anger as he read the confession.

"Blackwell?" The Chairman was directly in front of Blackwell as Blackwell looked up to the sound of his voice.

"This proves nothing. Obviously the words of another Council member that wants to turn my years of service and trust within the Elders to their advantage by making me out to be part of some insane conspiracy." Blackwell crumpled up the confession in a ball and threw it on the floor.

"Blackwell," The Chairman acted as if he had not heard a word that Blackwell had said. "The confession merely shows that your plans for the Elders do not sit well with the Council or even others around you. Even your own men have turned against you. Surely you must see the disaster that lies ahead if you should pursue this scheme of yours?"

Blackwell was silent.

"I have decided to talk to you, here in privacy, in order to give you a chance to stop this madness before it is started. If you wish to change your choices, Morpheus has given us names of other individuals that could possibly do the Guardianship well. If you like, we will allow you to take these names as your own and present them to the Council for approval. It will be as if nothing has happened and there will be no marks against you in the eyes of the Council."

"If you I refuse?" Blackwell said quickly and with bitter.

"Your choices will not be presented and we will still go ahead with those given to us by Morpheus. You will also be expelled from the Council and the Elders. Exiled from our ranks."

". . .And destroyed?" Blackwell chuckled.

The Chairman was taken aback by the comment. "No, Blackwell, the time for such things has long since passed. Perhaps your expertise is those events from long ago is why you are in this position today. Remember, Blackwell, with all good comes evil, and all evil comes good. The choice between them has to be made by the individual. Perhaps, someday, you will see this and you will be able to return to us."

"Perhaps."

Blackwell turned from the Chairman, and without a glance toward Morpheus, strode toward the door. Upon opening the door, he stopped. A faint smile played on his face as he turned back once more to the Chairman.

"Perhaps I have already seen the error of my ways."

Blackwell open the door fully in a exaggerated sweeping movement. He held his head high as he walked past the Elders and out of the Chamber. He was the picture of dignity as he walked the steps down from the capitol.

The smile never left his face.

With Blackwell gone, there was silence between Morpheus and the Chairman. The Chairman glanced at Morpheus, who was staring at the floor.

"It is as you said it would be, Morpheus. Do not feel guilt because of showing others the truth."

Morpheus cleared his throat. "If I may speak, sir? I know my candidates in the past for the Guardianship have not always turned out well; however, I do feel strongly about the four I had presented to you privately the other day."

"Yes, Morpheus? Your question?"

"Will the Council vote on them?"

"You believe these four to be the right choices? The last four were musicians as well and you know what occurred."

"I know." Morpheus let the comment slip by. "Yet, I strongly feel they are worthy of the positions. They have a fire in their eyes."

"If you feel that strongly, and can present such a case to the Council, I really do not believe there will be much of an argument against them. Time is short."

With these words, the Chairman headed toward the door. Just as he was about to enter the main chamber again, Morpheus called from behind him.

"Do you really believe the prophecies will come true? Do you believe that Blackwell will bring the darkness upon us?"

The Chairman halted, but did not turn. He sighed briefly.

"Yes, Morpheus. Darkness will come. It has always been our curse to know what will be. It is what drove Blackwell to these deeds."

Morpheus said nothing.

"Only the Guardians will be left to fight him."

Blackwell disappeared soon after.

No one knew where he went, or when. All that was known was that his quarters had been picked clean by someone and nothing was left to give clues as to where he might have gone.

As to his assistant? His body was found the day Blackwell disappeared; mutilated.

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