Eric remarked ruefully, “That’s one hell of a spell.”
Eriana nodded, amused. “I imagine it was, but Merlin cast it, with the help of other fae, from what he told us. And yet there was a problem with such enormous forces at work. It takes time. And after he cast it, in the week that it would take for all magic to flow from Earth into the fae world, and all the creatures to be pulled there, too, Morgana learned of what Merlin had done. She also learned that there was a key to undoing the spell should that ever need to happen.”
After a moment, Matt guessed, “The pendant.”
Eriana confirmed, “Merlin’s Pendant. It just had to be returned to Stonehenge, the most powerful doorway between the worlds. With that done, magic would resume working on Earth, albeit slowly, the same way it faded slowly, though there’s no telling how quickly it will fully return. It has already been a month since Anna unwittingly brought Merlin’s Pendant to Stonehenge and the spell was undone. Now, the doorways between worlds are opening.”
Eyes intense, Eric asked, “Does that mean we will begin to see fantasy creatures here?”
“Yes, for two reasons. The first is that the ones associated with Earth should arrive once they know the spell is undone. The second is that, with magic not functioning, this world could not be reached by magical means, and all other planets that I’m aware of, like Elloria, could not reach us here. Now they likely can, assuming they know to do so. I don’t know how long it might take for any alien fantasy creatures to arrive here. Or what they might think of this place, with its technology.”
She paused again, giving them time to absorb this. For weeks, she had been running through all of this, rehearsing it in her head and trying to figure out what to reveal when, not because she really wanted to hide things so much as not overwhelm them. They had already seen much themselves, but learning some truths about your world like this could be unsettling. Life was not what they had thought it was.
Ryan turned to Eric. “I think we only told Lorian, on the first quest, where we were from.”
Eriana’s eyebrows rose. She recognized the name, though more than one such elf existed, she was sure. “Lorian from Honyn, near Olliana?”
“Yes,” Eric answered. “That was the first quest. We can get to that in a minute, but we trusted him. He was the one who filled us in on you guys. In fact, almost everything we know is from him.”
That relieved her. They had spent significant time with him, and she liked the elf. “Unless he has changed, and elves seldom do, we can trust him. However, he may not have known to hide your origins.”
“Yeah, why is it important?” Ryan asked, concern on his face.
Not sure she should admit it for fear of worrying them, she said, “I’m only speculating, but if people think you guys are the Ellorian Champions and have been on Earth for years, it may cause visits from both good and bad people. We had a lot of friends. Enemies, too.”
“Like Soliander,” said Matt, frowning. “He knows we are from here. I’m sure of it.”
Eric observed, “But he also knows we aren’t them.”
“True. Not sure how much that will stop him from coming here.”
“Neither do I,” Eriana agreed, keen to see her old friend, but before she lost her train of thought from earlier, she added, “Before I forget, another effect of Merlin’s spell being undone is that the connection to the gods of this world has been restored.”
Ryan leaned forward. “Wait, are you saying that God has not answered prayers in a thousand years because of this, and now He will?”
“Yes, all the gods that people did not invent. There’s no telling which is which, really. Not yet, anyway.”
Looking dubious, Ryan said, “It seems unlikely that Merlin would have the power to stop God like that. It’s a little hard to believe.”
“He’s got a point,” agreed Eric, who then smirked at his friend, “unless, of course, God isn’t real.”
Ryan rolled his eyes. “I should have known you’d say something like that.”
“In fairness,” Eric continued, smiling, “maybe God agreed to go silent. He could have been like some of the fae, feeling that humans couldn’t handle the supernatural wisely. Look what we do with nuclear weapons.”
Eriana asked, kindness in her eyes, “I assume you are religious, Ryan?”
“Very,” he proudly answered.
“Well, I don’t have a real answer for you. Merlin only had time to explain so many things to us.”The big man rose, pacing back and forth. “This is interesting.” He pointed a finger at Eric, grinning. “You had better believe now, my friend, or it’s the lake of fire for you!”
The rogue replied, “I have more pressing concerns right now, but for the record, my atheism has everything to do with there being no proof of God. If He gives proof, I’ll be happy to acknowledge He is real. And maybe now we know why there has been no evidence, not for a long time, anyway.”
Eriana patted his healed hand. “You already felt the proof now. Who do you think I channeled earlier?”
As Ryan grinned at him, Eric conceded, “I can’t really argue that.”
“Let’s get back to the quest that brought you to Earth,” Matt interrupted, not seeming interested in any of the religious subjects. “So Merlin cast the spell to get rid of magic, and Morgana summoned you four to get the pendant and return it to Stonehenge, but you didn’t.”
“Right,” Eriana confirmed, wondering what else to tell them, but so far everything had gone well. “There is what I think
