Notes: After I finished the story, there was one more loose end that tapped me on the shoulder and asked to be written, so here it is.
Epilogue
His Eminence, the High Priest President, holder of the sacred staff of office, was lying on his bed in his chamber. His ancient body had finally given up its struggle against the inevitability of the ravages of time.
His handmaiden Elishka, gently cradled his head as she lifted a cup to his lips. She had transferred her oath of allegiance to his Eminence, when her original charges disappeared in a blue wooden box.
"Here, drink this your Eminence," she said quietly, encouraging him to take a sip of the invigorating drink.
"Thank you my dear," he whispered kindly as he smiled. He coughed gently as she returned his head to the pillow.
Cardinals and bishops had been summoned to his bedside to stand witness to his final moments of existence. One of them would be selected as the next holder of the staff of office, and become the next High Priest President. They were all more than capable of fulfilling the role, and would all make excellent spiritual leaders.
It wasn't the expected gathering of vultures, waiting impatiently for the death of an old lizard so that they could jump into his still warm shoes. Each of the assembled group had nothing but the greatest respect for the ancient lizard, who had personally encouraged and nurtured each one of them to achieve their current status.
They had been surprised when his Eminence had announced that the Kaliq-Farrash would not be returning to their world, but instead his Eminence would be travelling to the colonies to spread the word of the second coming.
It had been six years of travelling, lecturing and preaching, and on every world he showed the conviction of his beliefs, leaving no one in any doubt that the golden age was upon them. But the travelling had taken its toll on his already old and frail body.
His Eminence smiled as he remembered the beautiful noise that the wooden blue box had made when it had brought the Oncoming Storm that was the father of the Kaliq-Farrash. He could hear it now, filling his head and his body with the breath of the universe.
He saw Elishka's eyes go wide and heard gasps from the assembled group. He turned his head in the direction that Elishka was staring, and saw the blue box slowly appearing in his chamber. A tear trickled down his cheek.
The right hand door opened and a tall young man bounced into the room. He was 19, had brown, unruly hair and wore a dark grey tracksuit with red trainers. There was no mistaking who this man was, he was the perfect blend of features from his parents. He had his father's nose, and his mother's eyes and smile.
"Hello," he said cheerily. "I'm Eyulf, Eyulf Smith, but most people call me Wolfie. Except for Rebecca, that's my girlfriend, she calls me Foxy." He waggled his eyebrows and grinned. He had also inherited his fathers exuberance and passion, as well as his gob. He had his mothers sense of humour, and her compassion.
His intense brown eyes scanned the room and came to rest on the old lizard who returned his stare. His Eminence wondered how quickly human children grew and how long they lived, when he remembered that Mrs Smith had said that the passage of time for them was different than that for other people.
"Hello your Eminence," he said softly as he walked forward and stood at the bedside. Behind him, his parents stepped out of the TARDIS hand in hand, followed by an attractive 16 year old girl called Juleshka Suzette, and a 14 year old boy called Jason Peter, who was carrying a video camera on a tripod.
His Eminence raised a trembling hand and reached out towards the young man. Eyulf took his hand and held it gently.
"Y, you have returned," he said with trembling voice.
"Of course, how could I not." His eyes creased with a smile. "My parents made you a promise, and this family keeps its promises."
John and Rose looked at each other and smiled with pride. They were so proud of all their children and what they had achieved.
Eyulf had taken six A levels when he was eight years old and passed with top marks. He could have been the youngest entrant into Oxford University, but he wanted to stay at school with his friends.
Rose knew how important school friends were for social development and agreed with his decision. Eyulf took his own textbooks to school and while his friends were studying normal secondary school subjects, he would be studying at degree level.
When he did get to Oxford at the age of 15, he was the first student ever to achieve three doctorates simultaneously. His sister and his brother were also exceptional students.
Eyulf looked up from the old lizard towards the handmaiden, her eyes wide in wonder.
"Elishka isn't it?" he asked her and she nodded in surprise. "I remember you... Welll, when I say I remember you, I remember a green and yellow lady... Welll, I remember someone who was green and yellow and very kind," he rambled.
Eyulf's brother Jason, was setting the camera in position where it could take in most of the room. John and Rose came and stood either side of Eyulf and looked down at the old lizard.
His Eminence saw them and let out a sad gasp of despair. Tears started to flow from his old, tired eyes.
"I am so sorry for what I did to you," he sobbed, his voice barely audible.
Rose stooped down and gently stroked the scales on his head. "You are forgiven your Eminence. You have paid your penance, and have achieved more than even you could have imagined."
The old lizard had a confused look in his eyes as Rose stood and put her arm around John's waist as his arm went around her shoulders. Eyulf knelt down by the old lizard and spoke to the camera.
"People of the Seven Worlds, I am the Kaliq-Farrash, and I have returned," he started. This message was being routed through the TARDIS and being beamed to every city on every planet in the system.
"His Eminence, the High Priest President has spent the last six years travelling amongst you, telling you of my coming. You may not believe that I am the small child in my mother's arms that you saw in that message."
He looked up at his parents. "But here they are to stand witness to the truth of my words. Remember, I am the Kaliq-Farrash and I can choose to ignore the passage of time."
He now spoke directly to the old lizard on the bed. "I have returned now because his Eminence is not long for this world, and I needed him to know what he has achieved." His eyes seemed to look into the old lizard's very soul.
"Your belief, your conviction, and the message you sent did more to unite the Seven Worlds than I ever could. People united behind the truth of your words, sharing your belief, then sharing your conviction, and then... just sharing. They started to talk to one another and they learned that they were not that different after all, that they had more in common than not, and could accept their differences."
The old lizard smiled, he had a faraway look in his eyes as Eyulf leaned forwards to whisper in his ear.
"You did what you had to do. My father has done things in the past that he would rather not have done, but when you are faced with two evils, you are forced to choose," he told him, trying to absolve him of his wrongdoing.
"I came at this time, because I wanted to share something with you before you go. May I?"
The old lizard nodded and Eyulf placed two fingers on each side of his scaly head. The old lizards eyes went wide in wonder and a blissful smile lit his face. He was shown the whole of time and space, his part in it, and the results of his labours for millennia to come.
"Oh," he gasped. "This is... wonderful. Thank you Kaliq- Farrash, so I was worthy after all?"
"Oh yes!" Eyulf breathed in his ear. "You were SO worthy."
His Eminence closed his eyes and let out a contented sigh. He passed away with a contented smile on his face.
Eyulf stood and looked at the camera. "I am your Kaliq-Farrash, and although you do not need me, I will be there for you. When you do need me I will appear, while you don't need me I will be watching over you."
He looked over at his mother and gave her a playful grin. "May you live long and prosper." He gave her a wink and Rose hid her laugh behind her hand.
He nodded to Jason who switched off the camera and started to pack it away as he walked over to Elishka.
"Elishka, I release you from your oath of fealty. Go and have a good life, enjoy yourself." She curtsied.
He then walked over to the assembled cardinals and bishops. "You know who amongst you is best suited to follow in the footsteps of his Eminence. Choose wisely, and do not be too eager to follow portents until you have fully scrutinised them and are sure of their meaning."
He turned and looked at his parents, and saw their pride in him glowing in their smiles. John raised his hands and started to clap. Rose quickly followed suit, along with Jason and Juleshka.
Elishka took up the applause and looked to the rest of the lizards, defying them not to applaud. Soon the whole chamber was filled with applause as Eyulf walked back to the TARDIS.
John slapped him on the back. "Nicely done son, nicely done."
"I learnt from the best," he said, smiling at his father.
Rose reached up and kissed him on the cheek. "You certainly did son. C'mon, let's go home, Donna will have the tea on for us."
They stepped into the TARDIS which slowly disappeared to the sound of applause.