Chapter Sixteen: The power of a ring

Staring blankly into space, Erik pondered why he had changed his original plan. He did not intend to send Christine away so soon. It was true that all his questions concerning Christine now had been answered. They still however could have had a few more weeks of pleasure together, learning more about each other. Somehow it didn't feel right to desire her body again. Although his contempt towards Raoul had slightly weakened, he did not really care about Raoul to feel that it was wrong to continue his affair with Christine. After all, his rival had no regard for his feelings. Was he afraid? Afraid that Christine would fall in love with him and might decide to leave Raoul? No, Christine would not have left Raoul. He thought to himself, still desperately searching for the answer that seemed important to him. She wanted to abandon herself to her passions, to the darkness of music, but not for the duration of her whole life. She genuinely desired her life and future with Raoul.

Then it is because you are already promised to someone else. A voice spoke from inside him. But I am not engaged. Am I? He protested, still waiting for the answer.It was then that he saw a clear image of the illusive woman in his dreams. He studied every feature of the image with deliberate care, even though his heart was overwhelmed by indescribable feelings. He continued exploring her form, till he finally came to notice the gold ring on her finger. Almost immediately, he understood that the ring was his. Without a moment's pause, he rose from the bed and left the cellar. He had to know whether the ring still remained where he had been keeping it. After a long frantic search of his desk drawers, he finally let himself believe that the ring had truly vanished. She was real. She is real. And she is mine.

He paced the living room restlessly. What now? He asked himself. What do I do now? The script. The answer came from within. Of course, but where is it? Inside the suitcase. He went in search of his half unpacked suit cases. He found them in the corner of his bed room, and carefully took out a rather worn-out ancient script from the one that contained a few books. He had come across the script during his stay in Persia and had kept it because its content was rather unusual. The characters of Persian mythology were usually identified as either good or evil. The stories often told the battle between the good and the evil.

The script in question, however, told a story more complex than the mere battle between the two opposite forces. It was a story of a female warrior and her half-brother. Sheila was a princess of a small country ruled by a succession of queens, under the protection of the moon goddess. As her country had come under ever increasing threat from a neighboring country that worshiped the sun god, Sheila was raised as a warrior from a very young age. Fearless and single-minded, she pursued, tamed and finally earned the love of the Pegasus, the sacred horse that could travel at the speed of sound, with her angelic voice and sheer determination. Her beauty and courage also attracted the attention of the war god, who gave her his prized possession, the Sword of Fire, which would kill any mortal man with just a slight touch. The war god had been uncharacteristically kind, even sentimental; the only condition of his gift being that she should promise herself to him. She could now defeat any mortal man on the Earth. But she did not want to be just a warrior queen. She also wanted to be a wise queen; she wanted to meet the Phoenix.

Rahall, Sheila's half-brother, had a gift of prophecy and could change his form into many different shapes, for his mother was none other than the moon goddess. Both he and his father enjoyed her protection. While they themselves were mere mortals, she ensured that neither death nor age should take them away from her. He lived in his crystal palace, surrounded by beautiful nymphs. Despite his everlasting youth and enviable abilities, Rahall's heart was full of bitterness, as he had seen the secret of his birth and his fate. His father loved neither his mother nor Sheila's mother. He only ever loved his Phoenix. He bedded two women, one mortal and one immortal, only to bring two soul mates into their earthly existence, at the request of the love of his life. Rahall was 500 years older than Sheila, and he had known his half-sister's coming long before she was born. His cursed fate meant that he would love her unconditionally, and that he would sacrifice his life to help her on her quest to find the Phoenix.

In that story, the gods' immortality depended on the golden Nectar of Life that only the Phoenix could provide. They needed that lifeline every thousand years. But the Phoenix refused to meet them face to face, demanding that they should send a human of her choice as their messenger. On their way to her, she would create a series of beautiful illusions for the messengers, teaching them the secrets of the Universe and Time.

The gods were infuriated at the thought of relying on the insignificant mortals for their immortality. Despite the humiliation, they complied with her wishes every time. However, by the time the Phoenix chose Sheila as their latest messenger, the gods had grown bored with their perpetual existence. Nothing excited them any more. They had already seen everything that could even vaguely intrigue them. Well, almost everything. They had never attempted to dissolve themselves into nothingness. What great fun would it be to set a series of deadly traps for the new messenger on her way to secure another thousand years of their meaningless life? All agreed to the plan except the moon goddess and the war god, for their respective reasons.

The moon goddess sought help from her son. She pleaded with him that he should help his soul mate. At her suggestion, Rahall became furious; he knew what his mother did not. He would fight his fate and refuse to meet his soul mate, a woman whom he wasn't even allowed to touch, without invoking the wrath of the war god. His resolve did not weaken, despite all his mother's pleadings. Seeing no other solution, the moon goddess sent him to deep sleep, guiding Sheila to his side while he was blissfully ignorant of his surroundings. As his consciousness returned, he realized that his mother had set up a trap on him and that his futile fight against his fate was over.

He gave her a circlet that was adorned with crescent moon shaped crystals, which symbolized the power of his prophecy and the protection of the moon goddess. He told her that she should always wear the circlet and that the circlet would enable him to bring her back to him, whenever she was in danger. All he had to do was to call her name. Each time she faced an obstacle that her wits and her sword could not overcome, he would call her to his side. Together, they would find a solution for her latest barrier, before she went back to her journey. Together, they defeated numerous traps set by the gods, till…

The story abruptly came to an end, leaving the fate of the gods and the two lovers untold. However, the ending was not important to Erik. He read and reread the final part of the script several times. The circlet… the symbol of their connection… the ring symbolizes our connection… Is that possible to break the time gap? Of course, it is possible. My ring traveled with her. She is wearing it. All I need now is her name.