The World to Come
by Eildon Rhymer
What if the Dark had won at the end of Silver on the Tree? The world is sliding into darkness, and only tattered remnants of the Light remain. Will, Bran and the Drews grow to adulthood, and each to their own destiny in this World to Come.
Part three: chapter twenty
One goes alone
They woke up slowly, rubbing their eyes against the sunlight. Bran's hand was burnt; for a moment, he could not remember how he had done it. Jane groped for the Sign, but the Signs were gone. Barney dimly remembered them blazing with fire, then fading away to nothing, but Simon had forgotten the Signs entirely. His mind was brimming with memories of the lords who had appeared from nowhere, spoken, then gone away again, leaving the world changed.
It was Barney who spoke first. "Are they…? The Dark… Is it gone?"
"Yes."
They turned towards Will, each in their own manner. Why is he still here? That was Barney. Simon had to struggle to remember his name. Jane wept with joy. Only Bran looked at him steadily, knowing the truth, but still daring to hope.
"Then we've won." Jane felt subdued, rather than happy. She had dreamed of her husband, and he was the first thing she thought of on waking.
Will shook his head. "The Dark has gone, but the mortal rulers of your world remain. The Dark pulled the strings, but the puppets are still powerful. Governments are weakened, not overthrown. There is no magic wand to undo what has been done. There is much hard work, and years to go before things are restored to what they were before."
"They will never be restored," Barney said sadly, thinking of all those who had died. "The world is changed forever."
"But maybe for the better," Simon said, surprising himself. "You can learn through mistakes. People will know what's really important now."
"And we've got your magic," Barney said. "It will be easy."
Will looked away. The sun had risen revealing a day so beautiful it could have been the first day in the world. And in a way it is, he thought. This was how the world would look without Dark or Light. It was a world in which these people – my friends – would live and love, but it was not a world that Will would ever see.
Bran, though, saw nothing of the sunlight. He clutched his burned hand, and thought of his choice, and knew that he would be alone forever. I chose the Light, he wanted to cry. Isn't that enough for you to stay with me?
Will turned to Jane. "You need to know one thing. Your child will be… different. I know this. I have seen this."
Jane pressed her hand to her belly. "A sorcerer?" Her heart started to beat very fast.
"No." Will smiled. "Not an Old One. Not Light, although his mother was touched by the Light, and not Dark, although his father was touched by the Dark. There will be a new Circle for a new world. They will have power, but they will be human, too. They will live a normal life, and die in their time. They will be bound to their world by family and love. They will belong to the world they are fighting for, and not live apart from it, as we did. They will be human, and your son will be the first."
My son, Jane thought. "He needs his father." She looked not at Barney or Simon, but at Will. "I think I… I'm going back to him. He isn't a bad man. He…"
"I know." Will touched her cheek, and then the baby inside her body. He wanted to say more. He wanted to be an Old One, giving his blessing, but the human part of him just wanted to cry.
He's leaving, Bran thought. Is he going to tell us? Will I get a goodbye, or will he just go?
"Take me with you," he blurted out.
Will turned towards him, his grey eyes wide, as if he was afraid.
"My father…" Bran took a deep breath. "Before I… Last time, he… I mean… He was going to go out of Time, wasn't he, with Merriman? So if he can, why can't I?"
Will looked at him, walked to him, touched his palm gently, with cool hands that soothed the burn there. "They told you, didn't they," he said quietly. "They taunted you. You told you that no-one but me would ever forgive you for what you did, and that I was abandoning you."
"They said…" Bran clawed at the shameful tears. "They tell lies, though, don't they? They said I'd helped to trap you, and that was a lie. This was a lie, too, wasn't it?"
Will wished with all his heart that he could say yes. Instead, he touched Bran's cheek. "You know it is not, Bran. All worlds must be ceded to its children. You heard them say that. The Dark has gone, but so must the Light. I cannot stay. I only have these minutes because I begged them."
"Then let me come," Bran pleaded. "I don't want to stay here. They'll all hate me. They'll never forgive me, never."
"No," Will had to say. "I cannot. Your father could have done it, maybe, but that time has gone. I…" He sighed. "Oh, Bran, I can't do it. I can't play the Old One, not to you. I wish I could stay with you. I wish I could ease things, but I can't. I have to go. I can't stay, and you…"
"I can't go on," Bran whispered.
"You have to." Will grabbed him by his shoulders. "Think, Bran. Governments will be reeling at the moment, with their puppet-masters gone. You have followers and influence. You'd be in a position to really made a difference. You can take the police and lead it back to justice."
"But no-one will trust me," Bran said. "The people…"
"Barney and Simon will testify for you," Will said. "There are commanders in the Resistance who knew who I was, and will believe any message passed on from me. Put it out that you were enchanted, or that you were a Resistance agent who was secretly working from within to bring the government down. Say…"
"No." Bran raised his head, looking Will full in the eye. "If I have to stay, I will not do it with a lie. If they hate me, then they hate me."
Over Bran's shoulder, Will could see the Lords of High Magic lingering, waiting for him. They had no human form at all now, and only Will could see them. The others – friends and companions – saw only with mortal eyes. Will would never see with mortal eyes again.
I want more time, he wanted to sob - his last, human urge.
"Bran," he whispered, then stepped back, and hoped his eyes could say everything that his voice could not.
The others gathered round, drawn by something that they could not see. "It is time for the Light to depart," Will told them. "I will not take your memories of this. There is no-one left to guard this world, but neither are there enemies to attack it, except the enemies that lie in the hearts of men. But you have suffered much, each one of you. I lay nothing on you as I leave. Rest and forget, if you wish. Fight for the world, if you would. Return to loved ones. Be happy, and find hope."
He embraced each one of them, Jane first, and Bran last of all. Even Simon accepted it, caught up in the solemnity of the moment.
The last wizard. Barney thought of Merlin, in his childhood tales, and Merriman, who had guided them.
There is no magic left, just us. Simon shivered, not with dread, but with anticipation.
I will live through this, Bran told himself. I will.
"Goodbye," Will said, and, smiling, turned away, and was never seen again by mortal eyes, or on the earth that bore him.
End of part three: chapter twenty