Kindred Series

Kindred: (noun) A group of related persons, such as a family, clan, or tribe.
(adj.) Having a similar or related origin or nature.






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BOOK ONE
JOURNALS & JOURNEYS
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Chapter Five
The Tale (as told by Giles)

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“I need to give you a bit of background first. So, please allow me to start by telling you about a friend of mine named Mitchell Crispin. We grew up together and he was always like a brother to me in more ways than one. He’s probably responsible for saving my life, since he’s the one who got me back on the relatively sane track when Eyghon was more or less in control of my life. He helped me to overcome the dark forces that were trying to overtake me. Mitchell didn’t tread down the same path that Ethan Rayne and I followed. As a matter of fact, when he saw where we were headed, he devoted his time and study to learning how to combat those forces, realizing what we would be facing in the future. He was a true friend and one of the strongest, most incredible people I have ever had the privilege of knowing. When I say strong, I am referring to an inner strength that few possess. And when I say incredible, it’s because he was one of the most compassionate, insightful individuals that has ever walked the planet. The only person who can even begin to compare to him was his wife, Ruth. Anyone lucky enough to have befriended this couple, knows that they would move heaven and earth - and hell, too, if necessary - to help you. And there are few individuals indeed in whom they were unable to find some quality that made them worthy of that assistance. They both seemed to have a way of looking inside someone’s soul and knowing exactly what was going on. And they usually knew exactly how to best help with whatever that individual needed. It didn’t hurt that Ruth was a seer and often had psychic visions regarding the individuals they came into contact with. I bring all this up to give you a basis with which to understand my perspective. Absolutely anything – fact or opinion - that has ever come from either of them is something to which I give high regard and consider to be both reliable and accurate information.”

“You might recall that I made a short trip back to England about two months ago. At that time, I mentioned some business I needed to tend to. What I didn’t tell you was that the trip was prompted by a letter from Mitchell that had been forwarded to me. In that letter, I was surprised to see that Mitchell had used a secret code that we had relied on as kids to say what we needed to say without anyone else having a clue what we were talking about. I knew he wouldn’t have fallen back on that unless there was good reason to do so. After translating our code, I read that he and Ruth had recently had a visitor that they believed would fulfill certain prophecies referred to in the Tantric Scrolls. Now, Mitchell and Ruth were living in the jungles of Africa, cut off from the outside world except by regular mail, which is quite slow. The letter that I received from them had been sent nearly a month and a half prior to that. So, in order to know what was going on, I needed to get to England to see the prophecies they were referring to. The Tantric Scrolls were lost ages ago, but the Watcher’s Council has some partial copies of an old journal made by a monk prior to the scrolls’ disappearance in the late Middle Ages. Mitchell indicated in his letter that the prophecies he referred to had been recorded in those journals. The Tantric Scrolls were either hidden or destroyed (supposedly the latter) because the information contained was alleged to be devastating to any individual that read them. They are basically infallible prophecies laid forth from an unconfirmed source. Legend has it that they came to be back in the beginning of time prior to the advent of evil and were given by an unspecified goddess to aid in the coming battles which she foresaw. There has never been any proof of this, however. It is simply accepted canon in knowledgeable circles that if a prophecy is, in fact, written in the Tantric Scrolls, then it is a certainty that it will come to pass. Understand what I’m saying here, because this is essential to our particular situation. We’ve had experience with prophecies before, and we’ve seen where they can be averted or changed due to the actions we take. This is simply not the case with Tantric Scroll prophecies. They cannot be altered. If you were aware of one of these prophecies and tried to change things, events you changed would somehow transpire to bring about the exact results that you were trying to avoid. This is why the knowledge of what was in these scrolls was considered to be so dangerous. It’s why the scrolls were supposedly destroyed in the first place, although some believe they were actually hidden instead.”

Everyone was quiet for a moment as they considered this. Then Xander asked the question that was on everyone’s minds. “If the scrolls are that dangerous, then why was the information even given to begin with? Wouldn’t they have been better off not knowing at all?”

“As I said, the scrolls were given to aid in the battle against evil. They were entrusted to specific individuals known as Guardians of the Light. Not much is known about these Guardians other than that they were beings of great strength – both physically and mentally – who were able to both read and comprehend the meaning of what was laid forth in the scrolls, and then apply it to the world, fighting the good fight, so to speak. A great evil arose in the early Middle Ages and the last of the Guardians was destroyed at that time. After that, the Tantric Scrolls passed on to mortal men who could not handle the knowledge housed there. Anyone who tried to read them…well…if they were actually able to understand what they were reading…was quickly overwhelmed with the knowledge and responsibility, and most of them went insane. Those who didn’t lose their minds took their own lives rather than live with the certainty of what was to come, knowing they could do nothing to prevent it.” The others stared at Giles in horror at this. He shook his head and continued. “There were a lot of terrible things happening at that time and most of the monks who were guarding the Scrolls thought that the end of the world was fast approaching. They were unable to use the Scrolls themselves. So, they decided that it would be better to destroy the Scrolls than to risk having them fall into evil hands. This is where the legends differ. Some say they were successful in their efforts to destroy the Scrolls. Others say it was impossible to destroy them and they were hidden away. Over the years many supposed locations have been sought out as believed resting places of these Scrolls. No one has ever actually found them. On occasion though, a snippet of a prophecy has shown up that was taken from the Scrolls prior to their loss. Every single one of them has come true…without exception. You have to understand that no one – not even the vilest of demons – would claim that a prophecy was from the Tantric Scrolls unless it actually was. You see, the Scrolls were blessed - or cursed - depending on your point of view. Anyone who can read the Scrolls and interpret them may do so if they choose. However, anyone who attempts to misrepresent that information will meet with an immediate and violent demise. There are several documented instances of this occurring over time. These Scrolls are absolute Truth and that truth will not be defiled in any way, shape or form.”

“But then how could something evil read the Scrolls or use that knowledge?” Xander queried.

“You have to understand, Xander. Truth is truth. I’m not referring to being honest here. Truth is neither good nor evil. It simply is…fact, reality, truth. It cannot be denied. So, anyone can be aware of the truths in the Scrolls, but they cannot attempt to change their essence. If you were to learn of one of these prophecies or truths and try to change the course of fate, your efforts would be thwarted, but you would not be punished. If you, however, tried to mislead someone else by lying about or altering what one of these truths says, you would pay for it with your very existence. Because these truths are unalterable and will not be denied.”

“But I don’t understand. Why would you be punished for trying to lie about one of those prophecies but not for trying to change it?”

Giles sighed. Really, Xander, must you ask? “Let me try to explain it by way of an example. Suppose that you learned that you have an incurable deadly disease and will die in 6 months. You might seek out treatment to try to change this – surgery, medicine, whatever – in an attempt to live. You might change your eating and exercise habits, your entire way of life, to prolong your life. But in the end, the disease will kill you, no matter what you do. Now, suppose that this disease has self-awareness, so to speak, and knows that you are attentive to its presence. It is aware that you are trying to cope with that presence and does not prevent you from doing so. However, you then choose to lie to the people in your life about this disease. You have now denied its very existence and it will not allow this. In return, it increases its development exponentially and kills you in a matter of minutes rather than months. That is a very poor analogy, but it’s the best I can do at this time. Simply put, these Scrolls are affected with an awareness of their own accuracy and genuineness and they strive to preserve and protect that integrity at all times. They simply will not and cannot be misused or misrepresented in any way, shape or form. To attempt to do so is sheer folly. So, for Mitchell to even refer to the Tantric Scroll prophecies in the obscure method he did, speaks volumes of the depth of his belief. And in answer to your next question…Mitchell was still alive after writing that letter. And although he has since passed away, it was not in any manner related to the Scrolls. So, I have to assume that he was correct in what he stated in his letter about his visitor fulfilling those prophecies.”

“When I got to England, I was able to locate the journals easily enough. When the Council first obtained them, a lot of effort was put into their analysis. They were determined to be the ravings of a madman in the end, because they made no real sense that anyone could see. Various phrases and words that were legible but in no order that made any sense, combined with words made entirely of consonants that could not be discerned through any known tongue. In effect, ramblings and ravings. That actually lent a certain credence to the claim of authenticity since the monk who recorded them could very easily have been driven mad by his knowledge of what was in the Scrolls. However, no one could ever find any rhyme or reason to the ramblings in the journal, so it was concluded that the prophecies were not recorded there, and the journals were retained as a curio of sorts. When I journeyed there, I let no one know what I was really after. I simply made copies of the journals and returned them to their appropriate places on the shelves. I didn’t even read them until I returned here. When I did, I couldn’t make hide nor hair of them at first. Then I recalled that Mitchell had written to me in our old code and that got me thinking. I tried applying that code to the journals…”

“And you were able to translate them.” Xander broke in excitedly. He was actually enjoying this tale. He felt like a kid at story time.

Giles shot him a look that shut him up pretty quickly. “No, Xander, our code did not work. In fact, it gave me a miserable headache to even try. But I thought I might be on to something, so I played with it for a while. My efforts were to no avail though. And I was starting to get a little bit anxious. You see, I had begun to have my own theories of what was going on here. When Mitchell and I were growing up, one thing that we dearly loved to do was theorize about the meanings of different vague prophecies or legends that might come to pass. One of my favorites that we discussed frequently was that of The Warrior. The legend of the Warrior has been around for ages now and is generally accepted as myth, but Mitchell had always hinted that he believed it to be fact and possibly even Tantric. He spent a great deal of time researching to that effect, and that was the first thing that crossed my mind when I read Mitchell’s letter. There are other things we have discussed previously that might have been a prophecy he would have referred to in passing, but only for The Warrior would he have included the reference to the Tantric Scrolls.” Giles raised his hand to stop Xander from asking the question that he knew was coming. “And before you ask, let me tell you a bit about The Warrior.”

“There are many different tales associated with The Warrior, but although they vary on many aspects…there are certain threads that run true with any retelling of this tale in any culture. And when I say culture here, I am referring to different species. The Warrior is a well-known figure in many worlds and many races…including demons.” Angel nodded his assent here and Giles continued. “The Warrior is a male with considerable intellect and strength who walks between worlds. He is acknowledged by both demons and non-demons, being able to relate to both equally. He is self-sacrificing for the good of others. He is also virtually undefeatable in battle regardless of the odds. No one knows exactly who or what he is or when his time will be, but it has always been accepted that he would emerge at a time of great need to defeat a great evil. The rest of the details are where things get vague and vary from race to race. Most cultures like to tell this tale, hoping that the warrior will rise up out of their own race to bring them honor. Of course, he also makes a great role model for the little ones.”

“While I was waiting on Mitchell’s response to my letter, I started researching every reference I could find into The Warrior – no matter how vague or unbelievable it might be. What I read totally threw me. Since then, my suspicions have been confirmed that the visitor Mitchell mentioned in his letter was Spike. And since then I have seen and spoken with Spike and validated what I had previously gleaned from Mitchell’s letter. There is now no doubt in my mind that Spike is, in fact, The Warrior of legend.”

Giles then proceeded to relate the details he knew about how Mitchell and Ruth had found Spike and what had transpired while he stayed with them up until his departure. Other than Giles and Angel, no one else in the room had heard any of this before, so it was a rather shocked group that learned of Spike’s trip to Africa and the trials he underwent to earn his soul. Spike had not given either Giles or Angel the full details of his particular tests, but Giles told everyone how incredibly dangerous and impossible it was to pass the tests given by a Keralt demon and how most individuals that undertook such a venture were never heard from again. Everyone was amazed as they processed this news. Even Xander was quiet. He, for one, was having a hard time wrapping his mind around the idea that Spike had willingly sought out a soul, fought for it and actually succeeded. Anya was a bit in awe of Spike’s fortitude in attempting such a venture. She alone knew first-hand of the Keralt demons and Giles’ description barely did justice. She had a pretty good idea of how difficult the trials Spike had gone through really were and she was amazed that he had survived, let alone succeeded. Angel had heard the tale already, but he was still amazed that his wayward childe had gone and willingly sought out what had been forced on Angel kicking and screaming. He’d never had any real idea of how strong Spike’s character was until recently. He wondered if any of them had ever guessed at the truth before now. He seriously doubted it. After all, Spike might wear his heart on his sleeve, but who could possibly know went on in his mind.

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