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CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

A Letter to Erec.KING PITER GRINNED and the Hermit laughed. "You did it!" the Hermit said. They broke into applause, making Erec laugh so hard his stomach hurt.

"I'm not done yet," he said.

The king looked around in wonder. "It's beautiful here."

Erec agreed. The gray of the sky matched the eyes of his birth mother, Hesti. Skylarks swooped in perfect swan dives. No 388.

choreographer could plan a more perfect dance. The tips of the heather danced in perfect time to the beat of the wind, the harmony of the waves, the music of the Substance, and the rhythm of his own heart.

Every ounce of hatred had seeped out of him, leaving him tired but filled with complete love and understanding. He could feel a deep connection to his father, the Hermit, and the universe itself.

The last Awen would be easy, he knew. "Ready for a little rumble?" he said with a grin.

Erec fished the black Awen of Creation from the backpack. He would have little time, so he moved fast. As soon as he grasped the shiny black dodecahedron with etched symbols on its twelve faces the earth crumbled beneath him. Giant boulders bounced down the mountain, and the cliff side erupted into a shower of falling rock.

Erec's hands worked swiftly together until he saw a flash. A beam of white light broke from one of the boar's feet, and the Awen of Creation melted away into it. The rumbling stopped. No more chunks fell around him. Everything was still.

Deep in a pit, Erec slipped the Trwyth Boar chain back around his neck. Five beams of light shot from it: white, red, blue, yellow, and green, forming big glowing circles on the dirt around him. A few thin rays of light shone from above, through the rocks and dirt that had caved in over him.

Right where the beam of white light was shining, small green sprouts began to pop out from the dirt. The Awen of Creation, he thought. The most miraculous Awen of all. He could spend years just watching what it could do.

But, for now, best to climb out of the pit and let his father and the Hermit know he was okay. Getting out was much easier than it would have been in the past. The Awen of Knowledge in the Twrch Trwyth told him everything he needed to know. It was like having a 389.

permanent cloudy thought, but he didn't have to turn into a dragon to know what to do.

He pushed the right rocks at the right angles and climbed out of the pit without a problem.

The king and the Hermit were overjoyed to see him. Erec was astounded. Rocks, boulders, and raw dirt littered the ground, but the land looked even more beautiful than any he had ever seen. He could live like this.

King Piter clapped his back. "Well done." Then he peered at Erec's chest with curiosity. "Your Amulet hasn't changed yet."

"I know," Erec answered. "I haven't completed the quest yet."

The king was confused. "But...it seems like you did a pretty good job to me."

"He still has a decision to make," the Hermit said.

It was true. Erec was not sure what he would choose. The decision he had to make was crystal clear to him. He could either plant the Twrch Trwyth deep in the ground, where it would burrow its way down to the Earth's core and stabilize the Substance.

Or he could keep it.

Erec sat on the rocky shore, gazing far across the sea. With his boosted vision, he could see deep into the woods of Avalon, then spot a squid on the ocean floor. This was the hardest decision he had ever faced. It meant everything to him. It was his life.

He knew what both options would bring, of course. The Awen of Knowledge made that clear. His choice was simple yet so hard to make. If he buried the Twrch Trwyth, he would be his old self again. A little headstrong, sometimes bumbling, but meaning well. He would not remember all the answers that he knew now. It would be a much smaller life, less meaningful, less beautiful. He would not be able to watch each wave swell and see the perfection in it.

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If he kept the vial, he would move to a cave. He would want to live in nature, to best study how things grow. Every moment of the rest of his life--and his life would be much longer if he wore the Twrch Trwyth--would be an exercise in amazement. The things he could discover and bring to light would change the world.

And the Substance? That didn't really matter either way. Whatever he decided, it should be fine. He knew how to fix it now. That would be easy to do if he kept the Twrch Trwyth, since he'd have all the knowledge. Sure, burying the Awen would stabilize the Substance, keep the problem from getting worse. But it would not fix it. There was only one thing that would do that.

But he knew either choice he made should be okay. If he buried the vial, and lost the knowledge of how to fix the Substance, the Fates should help him figure it out through his quests. So that wasn't an issue.

Life would not be easy if he gave up the vial. The trials he would have to face were more than any one person should have to bear. But now he could see the beauty in that, too. The perfection of not knowing, of going through life with each day a surprise, an unfolding mystery.

Was this all about him? Well, it really was. People would die either way, unfortunately. He did not like to think about that. More mistakes would be made by more people. But that was a part of mortal existence. He could never change that. He was happier thinking about how life, in general, would improve with either choice he made, once the Substance was taken care of.

He wasn't sure he could really give up the Twrch Trwyth. Give up knowing the workings of the universe, feeling its harmony, seeing its spectacular beauty. That would be next to impossible. If he did, then he would fall back under the spell of that silly scepter again, he knew. The magic of the scepter paled in comparison to what he had now. Who needed to "do" things, mess with yourself or others, when all this wonder was before them? Power? There was no limit 391.

to the power of the universe that he was one with now. But it was a peaceful power, a complete thing, not the searing addictive power of the scepter.

He had no questions, no misgivings. It was just a choice. Just one that would change everything forever. There were no right or wrong answers.

But there was one thing he kept coming back to. With the Twrch Trwyth he would live in all-encompassing love, knowing, understanding, and accepting. It would be wonderful. Without it, he would be like a child, his love, disappointments, grief, and fears mingling with hope, pride, and amazement.

Monks and mystics everywhere spent their whole lives trying to attain what he had now. But which way did he choose to exist? To be a peaceful, happy observer of the world, or a cog in its mucky, magnificent wheel, a simple link in its spectacular chain? Peaceful observation or spectacular immersion?

So he made his choice. And he smiled because the Fates had known all along what he would choose.

He wished there was more wisdom that he could leave for himself, but he knew that only certain things would be okay to let himself know. So he asked King Piter for his notepad and a pen. "The notepad is in your jacket pocket, Father. And I'd like the pen in your shirt pocket, not your Aitherpoint quill."

The king turned pale, but took out the pad and pen.

Erec wrote a note to himself, chuckling.

Erec, Congratulations on your decision. You have picked the harder path, and for that I am proud of you. But it is the better path in the end. I'd like to leave you with a few words of wisdom. Use them as you will.

Choose the blue Awen ball first. The yellow one would be a disaster.

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Give your father a hug. Forgive him for his mistakes. We all make them.

Things may look bleak at times, but never forget the love you brought forth today. If you could win over the hate of the red Awen with that love, you can win over anything.

Nothing can stop Oscar. It's written in the fabric of time. So just help him.

Give Bethany a kiss. You'll know when the time is right.

Put the coat on the coat rack.

There is good to be found everywhere, even in evil. And you can learn in the dark.

Sit Jam down and tell him how great he is and how much you care for him. He will protest and squirm, but keep going on and on until he looks like he'll faint.

No matter what happens, remember that this was a grand adventure and a wonderful experiment.

And most important, but most difficult, trust yourself.

Love, Erec Tears rolled down his face as he walked back to the pit. He was not ready to give up the Twrch Trwyth, but he never would be ready. Using it longer would only make it harder. He cried for the tadpoles he would never really see, for the raindrops he'd never explore, for the life he was giving up.

Erec held the small glass vial shaped like a boar over the pit. Five bright-colored spotlights shone from it. It was spectacular.

He let it go.

The earth parted as the Twrch Trwyth fell, swallowing it up. The ground closed over it. Erec hung his head, feeling the great loss. Then he collapsed.

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The Hermit thought Erec's letter to himself was a comedy sketch. He laughed so hard he rolled on the ground, slapping his knees, eyes watering. The king found it interesting but was as mystified as Erec about most of what he had written. "The coat and the coat rack?"

Erec shrugged. Kiss Bethany? He didn't know about that, either. But he did give King Piter a big hug. "I'm glad to know who my dad is now. Aoquesth said some pretty great things about you."

The king hugged Erec back, a big grin on his face. "Hey, look." He pointed at his chest. "A fourth segment is lit up on your amulet."

Erec lifted the Amulet of Virtues off his chest. A fourth segment glowed a sunny yellow. He was curious what the symbol written on it meant, so he brought his dragon eyes forward. It was easier than ever to make his eyes turn around now. All it took was just a memory, really, of all that love.

"Knowledge?" He was confused. "I have the virtue of knowledge? I don't think so. I just threw all that knowledge into a pit."

The Hermit cocked his head. "You forget, Erec. You once knew everything. That sets you apart, you know. All your past and all your future is inside you, in that little black box. It holds all the answers now. That is something that will be a part of you forever."

Erec frowned. "You mean inside that black box I still understand everything in the universe?"

"We all do," the Hermit said. "But not like you. You have it all spelled out in there, crystal clear."

Hmm. Erec wondered what he would choose to show himself the next time he looked into his future with his dragon eyes. At least he could trust that he'd show himself the right things, since that black box now had all the answers.

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The Hermit giggled and bent over the lump of ground that had been a huge rift moments earlier. It had healed over, and already a raft of tiny sprouts were growing there. "A little light is shining from here." He picked something up from a tall tuft of grass. "Someone left you a present, Erec."

Erec walked over. In the Hermit's hand lay the glass Trwyth Boar vial, only now it was empty. But attached to three of its feet were tiny blue, green, and black balls. A red one was attached to its tail and a yellow one to its snout. He thought he could see tiny symbols on little faces around the balls, like tiny dodecahedrons.

"But why was this left here? I dropped it into the pit. It was supposed to fall to the center of the earth."

"It looks like you knew about it before, though." The Hermit giggled, tapping Erec's letter to himself.

Choose the blue Awen ball first. The yellow one would be a disaster.

"I don't get it," Erec said. "What does it mean to choose the blue one first?" He felt stupid, not knowing something that he fully understood just moments earlier. "I don't know what these things do."

"Oh, yes you do, silly Erec Rex." The Hermit slapped him on the back. "You know better than anyone."

Erec played with the vial and saw that the balls were attached to the glass boar by tiny stems. "If I break one off, it will do something...." If he only knew what.

"Exactly." The Hermit nodded. Erec put the chain around his neck alongside his amulet, where it had been before.

King Piter stepped through the rubble of the Castle Alypium, tears in his eyes. Erec felt terrible.

"I'm so sorry about all this," Erec said. "I should have listened to you. You told me again and again, but I thought I knew better."

As annoyed as he had been with King Piter, Erec realized how 395.

his father had been right all along. Erec was not ready to take over as king yet. He still had a lot to learn. And King Piter was not ready to lose his power. The people of Alypium still needed him watching over them, whether they knew it or not.

The king's eyes were wet. "My plants..."

It seemed odd that the king was more concerned about some plants that might have died than the devastation before them. Smashed shards of pottery urns mingled in the dust with crystal fragments and splintered wooden floorboards. Mangled tapestries wound around crushed gargoyles.

Erec felt terrible. "Are you sure you can't fix it again?"

"It's unfixable," the king said sadly. "I can clean it up, though. That will be one of the last things I'll do with the scepter."

The thought made Erec uncomfortable. Had he stripped his father of that much power? "Why is that?"

"The castle was a big part of me, stabilizing me. It let me do great things with the scepter and not be as influenced by it. I'm at much greater risk carrying it now and using it."

"Can't you make another castle with it?" Erec asked.

"No." The king smiled kindly. "That was only possible once. Too much of me went into it. There's just not enough left."

Erec had really blown it. "Maybe I should use it to make my castle now. Then I can use the scepter without as much danger."

The king waved away that idea. "You're not ready yet. It would destroy you. I need to keep it until you build yourself up more." He pulled it slightly away from Erec. "You'll be able to handle it after the Fates prepare you with your other quests. Just give it time."

It didn't sound like there was much time. Erec would have to finish the quests quickly so he could take over before something bad happened to his father, or someone stole the scepter. But what would happen if he did finish all twelve quests? He would inherit his father's 396.

scepter, build a castle, and rule over Alypium. It made a little more sense now that he knew he was an heir to the throne. But what about the other two thrones? What had happened to his brother and sister?

Erec studied the king. "You said you knew the other two who were supposed to rule with me. That would be my brother and sister, right?"

The king nodded. "But they can't help you now, I'm afraid."

Erec tried to remember what the king had said about them. "One of them is missing, and the other has some kind of problem, and can't do the quests. Which one is missing?"

The king sighed. "I've spent a lot of time protecting your sibling from finding out about all this. I'm not sure it's a good idea to tell you now. I'll need to think it over, make sure it's not dangerous."

"And what about my mom, Queen Hesti? Where is she? I want to find her--" Erec stopped when he saw his father's expression. His chin was trembling as he looked at the empty space where the castle had stood. Remembering his missing wife seemed to be more than he could handle.