Chapter 2

As the meteorite headed for Eoric, all four of the faeries rushed forward to protect the boy, mindless of each others presence. As the fiery ball reached within five feet of Eoric, the faeries joined together to resist its energy and all four were blasted by the object, being immolated together and finding their essence being absorbed into the unsuspecting boy's body.

The nature of Eoric's dreams began to change as his body absorbed the very essence of the four different faeries and the raw energy created by the meteorite. The scene that played out now inside his head was no longer the product of his own imagination, but instead was a genuine vision.

He 'saw' the wizard Merlin hold the sword Excalibur aloft and then throw it out across the water of a loch. As the blade tumbled end over end towards the surface a hand appeared from the depths and plucked it out of the air. The hand held the sword upright for a few seconds, as if in some kind of salute to the wizard and then it disappeared, the only trace of it a ripple on the water.

Eoric watched as Merlin turned his back to the loch and walked over to what was obviously a funeral pyre. The body of King Arthur was laid out on top of the wood. Merlin pointed his staff at the base of the pile and a blast of flame emerged and lit the pyre. The wizard stood, head slightly bowed, as the flames licked up and round the body before consuming it entirely.

The scene faded and was replaced by another that featured flames, this one a village that had obviously been ravaged by the Picts. A band of men rode through the houses, in pursuit of the Picts. These were Celts, well-armed Celts, so it seemed as if some resistance was taking place. There were perhaps two hundred in the group and they were led by a man with bright yellow hair. Eoric recognised him as Eochaid Buide, King of the Epidii of Dalriada.

A third and final scene replaced the village, one that showed the hill-fort of Dunadd and a beautiful young girl with long copper hair. She was sitting quietly, sewing some garment or other and talking to what seemed to be a maid.

Merlin walked round the cave that was his only home. The cave was carved on two levels and the stone of the walls was smooth as if it had been ground down over many years by some great force.

Something was troubling Merlin. He had felt a presence when he had returned Excalibur to the Lady of the Loch and when he had faithfully conducted the funeral for his beloved Arthur. He had extended all of his powers to try and identify who or what was watching him, but whatever it had been had eluded him.

To do that required very powerful magic he knew and it intrigued him that he had come across something as strong as this. He wondered whether this presence could have had something to do with King Arthur's death. In the weeks leading up to the battle, Merlin had had a sense of impending doom and had warned Arthur about it. Arthur laughed off Merlin's warnings and re-assured his friend that everything was going to go well.

While he had been standing on the slopes of Lammer Law Hill, Arthur's death came to him in a vision and he had cried out his despair across the battlefield before he had staggered away.

Now he pondered on whether his growing sense of trouble brewing could be connected to the powerful source of magic, magic that seemed able to watch over what he did without him being able to identify its source.

King Eochaid led his group of men through the countryside to try and catch up with more of the Picts that were laying waste to the villages of his kingdom. It had been a number of years since the Picts had felt strong enough to raid this far into his territory and he realised he would need to raise his full force and begin to carry out some punitive raids of his own to teach them a lesson.

Finding no Picts at the next village, but houses still burning, he decided to split up his force to try and cover more territory. He knew that survivors would head for high ground and he ordered a small group to begin to round these up and ensure they returned to their villages. That would be important if crops and livestock were to be raised and set aside to see Dalriada through the winter. He decided that he himself would return to Dunadd for now.

When Eoric awoke in the morning the details of what he had seen were still vivid in his mind. He was aware of birdsong around him and the continuing sound of the nearby waterfall. He rose and walked over to the fast moving mountain stream that ran from the foot of the waterfall. He bent to cup some of the cool clear water in his hands and drank deeply, savouring the refreshing liquid.

He let his brain ponder the significance of the scenes he could remember. Somehow he realised they were important and no normal dreams. He sensed a change had come over him, but couldn't identify what it was, instead he returned his focus to the scenes from his sleep.

He knew a little of the politics of his time. Eochaid was Arthur's younger brother, but their father had elected to make Eochaid his heir for the Kingdom of Dalriada rather than Arthur. Arthur had carved out his own Kingdom in Lothian through sheer strength and his ability to get others to follow him.

Once he had secured his Kingdom, Arthur had set about trying to realise his grand vision of uniting all of the Celtic tribes into one Britain, one strong Britain. He had included the Epidii Celts in Dalriada, but Eoric knew that Eochaid was more interested in defending the territories he held in Aontroma (modern day Antrim), across the sea in Ireland. Eochaid's support for Arthur's vision had been half-hearted at best, perhaps influenced by sibling rivalries, and Eoric was pretty sure that his attention would now be solely focussed on protecting his own lands.

He could see little wrong in that; at least the Epidii would be organised and effectively led in defending themselves. Eoric liked the idea of more security. He also knew Eochaid was another who was Christian, having converted along with his father Aedan, under the teachings of Columba himself. Aedan had been crowned on Iona at Columba's hands and the Irish missionary had been well supported by the Epidii.

Eoric wasn't sure what the significance of the scene showing Arthur's funeral was or who the girl might be, but he decided his 'vision' could possibly be trying to give him some direction. Having been cast out from his village, he would make for Dunadd and see whether he could find a position with a blacksmith there.

His decision made, Eoric stood and took in his surroundings once more. He felt somehow more 'aware', there was no other word to describe what he felt. He was just - more aware. His whole body tingled and it felt as if the blood in his veins was fizzing with pure energy.

The birdsong was clearer and the animal life forms around him were also clear in his mind's eye. It was as if he could feel the life in the earth beneath his feet, as if he had suddenly put down deep roots. There was something else. He could hear the villagers talking and was 'aware' of their presence, even down to being able to single out the druid.

"What's going on?" he asked himself.

"You have become an elemental."

The voice had sounded inside his head and Eoric jumped with surprise at the sound. He looked around himself, but couldn't see anyone. No, the voice had definitely been inside his head.

"Who or what are you?" he asked anxiously.