Uther Pendragon and his men stood over the bodies of their fallen enemies. The battle had taken place, and Uther had won. His group of 15, 000 trained soldiers had defeated the few hundred heathens that tried to guard Killaraus swiftly, and only lost a few hundred men in the process.

As they made their ascent towards the base of the mountain, balls of light moved all around them. Faeries, Uther could identify them, even if he had only seen them once before in his lifetime. This was surely a sign that magic was here and Merlin was right.

He had been right about everything. The number of men needed, the mountain they should go to. He had instructed them to go to the mountain and they would find a number of large stones to bring back. Uther had argued, instructing Merlin that a job of this caliber would be dangerous and time consuming. But Merlin always had his way. The stones were exactly where he said they would be.

A few hundred yards away, Uther instructed the majority of his men to stay behind. As the men approached, they marveled at the sheer size of the stones. The heathens considered these rune stones, these ones had specifically been erected by Viking invaders years ago. Some say that the Vikings had received them from Giants from Africa many years previous to that. Whatever they were, Uther knew there was a spiritual significance to these stones.

Some of the men, seeing the size of the stones, balked at the idea of having to carry them all the way back to England. Uther heard a number of complaints as they got close enough to touch the stones. He instructed 600 of his strongest men to come forward and lift the first stone.

The men grabbed hold of the first stone and tried to lift. It was far too heavy for them. They couldn’t even get it a few feet off the ground. Uther ordered another 60 men on the stone. Even with the added muscle, they still couldn’t lift even one stone. Uther yelled at his men, surely they were still tired from battle.

The faeries came back, and flew around the stones. A man’s laugh sounded. Clouds rolled in and surrounded the mountain. Merlin’s face appeared in the clouds. And then silence. Once the clouds left, Uther and his men sat stunned and realized the stones were gone.
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Merlin looked over where he had brought the stones. They lay in a circular pattern, hundreds of miles away from Mt. Killaraus. He didn’t need to send Uther and his men to Ireland, but he needed them to understand the magnitude of what this place would be.

They would get back soon enough. And when they did they would see the stones here. All but one made it to Stonehenge, and Merlin had special plans for that one stone. They would see.
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Neville watched as cloaked men approached the rocks at sundown. He wasn’t sure if they were human or spirit, but he decided that he should potentially say nothing until addressed. Each man stood next to one of the stones and sat with their heads down. A light came from the sky and shot into Neville. It felt like an electrical pulse ran through his entire body.

Neville writhed in pain as what felt like electricity shoot through him. He fell to the ground screaming, each bit of energy draining his life from him. He blacked out from the pain.

When he woke up, everything was gone, the stones were gone, the cloaked men were gone. He felt transported to a different place. When his vision returned to him, he could see he was in the throne room of a king. The King stood in the corner of the room, Neville didn’t know who he was.

Neville Sinclair

Yes?

Ah, Neville, we’ve been watching you for awhile.

Who are you?

That’s not important. What’s important is who you are. Do you even understand it?

Understand what?

Who you are! What you were made for! One of the things you need to understand is that only very few can come to Stonehenge and experience the magic here. Have you ever felt different Neville? Have you ever felt that you somehow were greater than the world you were living in?

Neville swallowed at this assertion, this was exactly what he had felt for years. It was like he was living in the world on cheat mode. Everything came easy to him.

Yes, my lord.

Do you know why?

It felt like the King was toying with him. Every question was met with a question. This was a strange conversation to be sure.

Neville, you spend your life trying to educate the world, like it’s some sort of duty of yours. Well I have a few things I need to teach you. Sit back and listen for a few moments. Would you like some Scotch?

Neville smiled

Of course.

The king poured the two men a drink and Neville threw two shots back before the King even began speaking.

Lesson #1 – You were made for greatness

Neville, one of the things I find incredible about you is that you were created for greatness. Your heritage and natural gifts make it so that there’s no one else in the world like you. Now don’t go being arrogant about things, don’t overestimate your own abilities. But did you wonder why when you came here you felt something special about this place? Did you wonder why it felt you could tap into the magical realm? You are special Neville, understand that.

What does that even mean? Are you saying I have the potential for superpowers or something?

Neville looked at the man, he couldn’t understand what this power might tap into.

Not even close, don’t misunderstand what this magic can do for you because you’ve seen too many superhero movies. It will take care of you. It will help you at times you need it. Not for some silly wrestling match, but to make a difference in this world. The magic will come when the time is right. Wait for it, look for it.

But why me? I mean…

Ahhh.. that brings me to…

Lesson #2 – You are the descendent of a great line

Does it make sense to you? These stories I mean. Do they feel familiar?

I mean, sure, but I studied them in college

Understand, Neville, you are a part of these stories.

Neville was confused, this was all a lot to take in.

Are you saying I’m a descendent of Uther Pendragon?

No, not Uther, Merlin. Neville, Merlin had a child with a witch from the area who he kept hidden throughout his entire lifetime. You are a descendent from that line. Whether you realize it or not, people look to you for answers to things. You provide the world with knowledge and guidance on how to do things. Kings and rulers look to you for counsel. You have a responsibility in this world.

Neville, you’ve done well, you’re in a good place. But you need the confidence to be better. You don’t realize how great you truly are.

Neville sat stunned.

Can I have another drink please?

Lesson #3 – It begins again with this weekend

Neville, you have a chance this weekend to right the one wrong in the wrestling ring. Take it. Make your name great again.

Kropotkin is just a confused anarchist who thinks what he believes in is cool because he saw it at a protest once. There’s nothing about him that should be the slightest threatening, he’s a speedbump at best. Slow down, take him seriously, but beat his ass. The best thing for Kropotkin to learn is how foolish he sounds when he speaks. He needs you Neville. Stop him from bad habits before they become to engrained in him. Educate him.

Neville nods as he understands his strategy for his match against Kropotkin

Phantom Panzer is comic relief at best. He’s a man that can’t take anything at all seriously. Why else would a grown man try to provide the wrestling world with a sad clown gimmick? He thinks he’s hilarious and as such doesn’t take things as seriously as he should. I don’t think you stand a chance to lose to a man like him, but you still need to put in your best effort. He’s been around the federation for awhile so he’s a bit more wiry than others. Of course, he’s also the only one who’s beat you, so I know the revenge aspect of this will be especially sweet for you.

Yes, it will.

Do you understand what you need to do?

I do

Great, I’ll see you again.

As quickly as Neville was brought into the throne room, he was sent back out. But he wasn’t placed in the same place he came from. He now sat in a field where a large stone lay. He recognized the stone immediately as similar to those of Stonehenge.

But this one was different, a sword stood in the middle of it.

A boy came forward and placed both hands around the sword. He recognized the boy immediately, it was a younger version of the man Neville had just had a conversation with. A crowd gathered as the boy pulled the sword from the rock.

Behind him, he heard Merlin laughing.

Educating the XWF since 06/08/17