Three subtle knocks pierced the soundless void of an old man’s cell.  At the back of the apathetic stone enclosure, he sat upright on a bed of shrubs and cloth.  The impatient genius, had his face hiding in his palms, while his elbows rested sternly on his knees.  Certain as to the identity of his visitor, a grin of relief appeared and he sprang to his feet.

“You made it!”

“Indeed I have Sir. My name is..”

“I’m very aware of who you are my friend.”

“It is of the utmost honor to make your acquaintance sir.  Are you dealing well with this ungodly captivity you’ve been resigned to?”

“Thank you, I’ll be fine, it’s not important anyways.  Your arrival is what matters, well done young man.”

The old man grabbed a thick book with countless rag pages, filled entirely with black ink.  Timelines, instructions, philosophies,  and diagrams covered every spec of the surfaces.

“I’ve included my wishes to authenticate your identity, the four of you, through the duration of time.  It’s imperative we think ahead and proceed with prudence to detail.   A consortium of minds who think like we do, can’t risk  a senseless setback due to identity protest.   As of today, and moving forward,  your foursome are known as  “the Firebrand.”  You my boy, are the Ghost.  It’s all in the dossier.  The others will now be the Creator, the Chemist and the Philosopher.”

“And you’re confident that the leaders will trust that these are your wishes?”

“I’ve included a letter that I want you to read at the next meeting in Rome.  All of the timeless names will be there.  That way, the words will come from my pen, in the same writing that beholds the secret to quantum mechanics. Once my discovery is shared with the others, they must urgently begin working.  If my idea proves capable, you four, will be integral to my plan.  Consequently, you’ll become the executers of what will be a critical mission, tantamount to the survival of our species.”

“Thank you sir, we are honored to be held to such an esteem by a man of your valor.”

“It’s your calling.  It’s our calling.  Each member of our society has been imbued with an attribute or ability that excels any of its kind among humans.  With that compels us a responsibility.  It’s no coincidence we’ve all found each other through the dredges of life.”

“I agree Nicolas.”

“Go on. Get to Rome and get these materials where they need to be.  I don’t need to tell you of the importance here.  I bid you good luck and a safe journey.”

June, 30th, 1951

Red mist hanged like a martyr, in the infinite sea air.  The vastness is punctuated with a never ending smattering of stars, relentlessly spilling beyond the bounds of the universe.  The all encompassing Earth was in full focus, from its sun beaming her rays against her moon,  exploding light over the horizon. Jonathan’s fickle lucidity, straddled the line of life and the unknowable.  It’s that grey area, where spirit and fate do their deliberating.   The skin of Adalia’s arm, cold and colorless, rests over the aft of their impish lifeboat.  Her hand alive, only from another source of life, clenches the pendant, while it’s chain drags in the water.  One of her favorite philosophical debates, was Kant’s question, “Are we in this world, or of this world?”  Jonathan jars himself back to life, to discover that she just found the answer.  Her lifeless body rested half on his numb legs, while her top half draped over the edge.  With the purity, grace and dignity that comprised her essence, she left him a painless and soothing expression.  A look that assured him, this was not farewell.  Jonathan knows why.  He may be the only human alive who knows, but this knowledge provided him the comfort he needed to finish the mission.  Still, the sand pouring through the hourglass, can not be reasoned with.   He lunged for the pendant and tucked it safely in the inside pocket of his pants, while he began to assess his surroundings.  Facing westward,  the seaboard was just meters away.  To the East, there was not a ship in sight.  Of the few humans left, he is comfortably, right where he wants to be. Where he has to be.

SPELLBIND

June, 28th, 1951

The hill continued to swell with citizens after Adalia’s procession came to a premature ending.  A fevered pitch was mounting among the silence, demanding someone break the ice.

Of the strangers that shockingly emerged from the forest, four men took lead as the spokesmen.  They introduced themselves as the Chemist, the Creator, the Ghost and the Philosopher.

“We’re sorry for your loss, and please trust our visit is rooted in compassion.  I’m afraid that we are facing a grave danger, all of us.  And we have some words to share that carry quite a robust magnitude.”

“Excuse me if this sounds a bit aggressive,” a towns person asserted,  “but I’m sure you can sympathize, with the confusion of what you’re telling us.  Our world has existed this way through generations, with no real sociological trouble, and I think it safe to say, we’re a happy lot.  The only variable in our contented stability has been the mystery of your people.  And you have to admit, it’s a bit disconcerting that you’ve chosen such a curious time to march through the trees and introduce yourselves.”

Gentle mannered and with a very delicate approach, the Creator stepped forth.

“We can absolutely empathize with your plight.  It’s only right and natural that this carries the effect that you’re feeling.  For us, this occasion comes with a bit of anxiety as well.  We’ve been preparing for this day for a good deal of time now, and we knew this part was going to be hard.  Is it alright to ask you to assemble a few of your town’s leaders to sit down and discuss something of pressing and critical importance?”

“Yes, I think we had better do that.”

The four newcomers and a small collection of townspeople headed back into town to talk. The chatter elevated, as the crowd on the hill began to react to the unexpected events unfolding before their eyes.

 Reveal

The procession had ended hours ago, and the lush green tapestry was increasingly covered with more and more townspeople.  The indications of what had happened have only begun to unravel.  A confusion about the white cladded strangers who’d emerged from the trees, was short lived.  Through folklore, a fear was born.  This fear, birthed by an unknown source, in an unknown time, had shackled the people of Madina Lake. Just a collection of words really, eschewed from a stranger’s tongue to a captivated set of ears.  The implications of which, gained increasing vitality until this falsehood became an undisputed truth.    It was a gripping example of perception’s stranglehold on reality.  A tale,  surreptitiously, weaved its way through the generations, unchallenged.  Time served to inflate its magnitude, and stronghold on the people.  Until today, the nefarious “river people,” quelled any adventurous or curious minds from exploring this magnificent land.  It fostered stagnant and complacent minds.  The collective conscious of the townspeople, eroded through time.  Minds were compressed to a small spectrum of a general self.  The effects of which are infinite, when analyzed.  The tenants Arlene postulated at the inception of this settlement, perhaps loaned too much credit to its people.  There is an innate curiosity in the human species that propels a society, arguably, forward.   If you castrate a people of this instinct, a shift in value will occur.  At this point in time, Madina Lake’s character has dangerously shifted.  The gravity applied to vibrational harmony, had lifted.  A subsequent vacuum was grossly filled with a different set of means to fulfillment.  And that is the fate these humans would succumb to, bringing it to the brink of collapse.   Arlene never intended a hierarchy.  She certainly never imagined one like this.  Darwinism is guided by a natural, and uncontrollable evolution.    But it also shouldn’t serve to qualify a human’s worth.   One can’t reasonably portend that everyone is created equal. But neither can one assume that a thinking species is sentenced to their lot in life based on their genetic composition.  Sadly, this is the path of the townspeople.  There is a soul in each human that has an insatiable need for acceptance.  An all embracing collective should have sufficed.  Now, individuals want more. They want everything.   Balance has fallen by the way of a one dimensional scale, tipped to the ground by reckless desire, and entitlement.

There was a new born hope in the tragic events on June 23rd.   Tragedy has a curious ability to reset a collective frame of mind.  Adalia’s martyrdom will be stained in time, as the event that pulled this truth from its subconscious dwellings,  to the conscious forefront.   Remarkably, while the townspeople intermingled with their new guests, an enlightened energy was palpable.  Even still, there were serious questions that needed to be answered.

 Spellbind

Jonathan and Adalia had slipped away when the attention was pulled towards the parade of white.  They were just beginning the mission that lay before them.

Jonathan was beginning to comprehend the mystifying elements of this unprecedented ordeal.  He had surmised that the four students of his, were unquestionably the leader of this tribe.  Only they were adults now.   After the last week’s worth of metaphysical chaos, this possibility can no longer be counter intuitive.

Down in the town center, the Firebrand began its meeting with the leaders of Madina Lake.  They sat in a quaint building on the edge of an unusually vacant Sapphire Square.This is the place that most everything happens in Madina Lake, including the seldom, but now necessary council affairs.

“You must, by now, have been keenly aware that there is plenty more Earth beyond this natural fortress.  Your admirable approach to such a supposition is something that we’ve been responsible for preserving.  This beautiful and mystifying land, was no accident.  Nor were any of its inhabitants.  The natural part is genuine, but the settlement part was not.  A group was transplanted here many hundreds of years ago. There’s a great irony here.  Since this time, your people regarded us as a threat or a fear.  Meanwhile, we’ve been here protecting you from a most certainly imminent attack or infestation.   We belong to a group, comprised of the most brilliant minds ever born.  So brilliant in fact that their discoveries, were often ahead of their time and as such, wound many of them would suffer murder, imprisonment and exile.    Either it was a scientific breakthrough that violated the churches word of God, and was deemed Blasphemous, or its revolutionary sociological ideas threatened to hijack the power majority from a King and his men.  I realize some of these concepts make no sense to you.  We’ve done our best to slip literature into your library, or bookshelves, so at least you’d have an idea of what we we’re doing here when the time came.  Sadly, it has been increasingly difficult to reach the minds of your people.  This lead us to believe that they got to you first.”

“Who are they?”

“It’s the force that is opposing our species. A rogue evil, whose idealogy dictates they have no regard for the species, has permeated into the masses.  Your people are shellshocked by the murder.  They think it is Adalia in that casket, and as it should be irrelevant, carrying the same tragic weight as any murder, it’s not.   Because they think it was Adalia, the whole town is in uproar.

“Are you telling us that Adalia is still alive?  Who’s in the casket?

“That’s right.  It was Pandora who was killed.   The physical identity of the deceased shouldn’t compromise the enormity of the murder. This is the sign that perhaps your town has been infiltrated as well.  These people I speak of are the ones who coordinated the killing.  They are a savage, reckless  people, with no regard for the basic decency of humanity. They’re takers.  They feel that our time here on this beautiful planet should be spent in an endless war to attain as much for themselves as possible.  They’re aware of the balance and harmony of our world, but don’t care.  They are the ego driven. Our forefathers had the impeccable insight to anticipate their influence grabbing hold of the masses.  An entire world exists out there, filled with billions of people in different sub-sects and territories.  Rich with authentic cultures of their own, and beautiful rituals, which at one point could co-exist with our host.  At this time, our group had determined that the battle was largely being lost.  Their infestation of ideals, values and morals had seduced the world.  The consequence of which would ultimately eradicate the species, and perhaps the planet, all together.  The struggle for power, and greed would collide with advances in science and technology, resulting in weapons could destroy the planet.  In advance of this fear, our people created a seed bank.  This bank contains fertile seeds for every type of natural necessity in the ecosystem.  When the day comes that scorches the earth, this is the key to it’s survival.  As far as humanity?  This is why Madina Lake exists.  This is the only place on Earth where each one can flourish.  This land is of tantamount importance to the future of our kind.  This is the only place on Earth that was designed in such a way that even their most hideous creation couldn’t reach.   Well my friends, we’ve overestimated the enemy.  The day we react has come. ”

Later that evening…

Lila’s Kitchen became the defacto ground zero for the townspeople to gather together and discuss the disappearance.  The local favorite, is a typical greasy spoon that has enjoyed its landmark status by being the best.  Its menu hasn’t changed since it opened,.and that date, while not known, is inarguably long enough to be impressive.  They do a unique perspective on the classics.  Lila grows and cultivates all of the ingredients by herself, with the same love and passion that she creates with.   The atmosphere is soothing without a hint of dullness.  But the real appeal, was that, whatever the time or circumstance, you’re assured to be in the company of friends.

A 5 year old young girl shuffled restlessly in her booth.  She had lifted the scarf and sun glasses from her mother, seated to her right, and was doing a bit of role playing with her friend, one booth behind her.

“I hereby elect myself as the next Adalia,”  with an unconvincing adult voice impression.

“I’ve got everything it takes.  I’m beautiful, and rich and all the town’s men will fight over me, mark my words.”

The other child giggled, enough to make her carry on the charade.

Their playfulness, innocent as it was, had a robust magnetism to it.  The voices carried.  It wasn’t  so much their subject matter, and the heightened sensitivity to its awkwardness, as it was its reaction to other patrons.     Their own parents didn’t notice, but they were likely the only ones none the wiser.

As the child continued to list the attributes she was to embody to become the next town socialite, in mid sentence, suddenly stopped.  She faced a captive audience by this point.  All expression of vitality, playfulness and youthful joy vanished, in place of a blank dark hole in her eyes.   At this very moment, her shoulders lifted, stomach retreated and she vomited all over both party’s booths.

Jonathan and Adalia managed to slip away unnoticed. The crowd was likely to head South around the bay, to the Divine Cemetery, before dispersing to an ominous evening. Jonathan learned by now, not to waste time with questions. He followed Adalia North along the lake towards the entrance of the forest. A few heavy gusts of wind predicated a rumble of thunder and a tease of light drizzle. The sky darkened with thick black clouds. Within minutes, a raging thunderstorm converged from all sides of the mountains. Once again, Jonathan felt the sense that this wasn’t a random act from an unobjective nature. Somehow, this was a message transmitted from the ultimate source. They pressed on into the swelling cast of trees, down a familiar path. Suddenly Adalia stopped and turned to face him. She braced his arms and looked him in the eyes.
“The cave is not exactly what it appears to be Jonathan. None of this is. I can only imagine what these last few days have been like for you, but I want to thank you for your fortitude.”
“If someone were to tell me last week, what I was about to experience, I would have laughed at the absurdity of their words. Considering the hyperactivity of my mind, I would have contemplated my reaction, had it come to fruition. Never would I have guessed that I’d have the will to make it this far. But somehow, you radiate a stillness that gives me the faith and conviction to never doubt myself or my instinct. So I should be thanking you.”
“It seemed that we were hopeless last week. When I found you, I summonsed the Firebrand. We invested everything in your character, and we were right. It’s not over yet. Soon, I won’t be here, but that doesn’t mean I’ll be gone, ok?”
“What does this mean?”
“Before it gets too bad out here, you need to go to the cave. You’ll see the torch at the entrance, like the last time. Just inside the East end of the rock, there is a stack of three rocks. Underneath the stack is buried a compass, a map and a photograph. On the map, there is a symbol of a circle bisected with four letter “A”s. That marks your location. Follow the path to the “Tetra Yuga” symble.”
“Oh that? Of course, I’m very well versed in ancient symbology, that’s one of my favorites,” he laughed.
She laughed back at herself for the seemingly pretentious name drop. “It’s an 8 pointed star, I’ll spare you the origin. This marks the highest elevation in the mountains. Once you reach the ridge, you will be able to see what lies beyond the confines of Madina Lake. Take the photograph and hold it against the horizon. If the other side of the mountain matches the photograph, we are well ahead of the enemy. If it doesn’t, we’re running out of time.”
What is it that I will be looking at if it doesn’t?”
“It’s called Scorched Earth. It means that humans have passed the threshold of what Earth will tolerate. In essence, our species is no longer welcomed here.”
“And what do we do if that is the reality we are facing?”
“I’ll need you to go back into town. At the cemetery where they will have buried who they believe to be me, find my headstone. It will have a few scriptures carved in the stone. At the bottom, will be a Crescent moon carving. They use that when they don’t know the family name of the deceased. It’s sort of a default crest. If I’ve succeeded with my mission, use a knife and carve out the moon. That’s where I’ll hide the pendant. Jonathan. The fate of humanity rests within the contents of this pendant.”
“No shit.”
She smiled at his choice to make an untimely, sarcastic remark.
“Well, what you don’t know is where this pendant needs to be smart ass.”
“I’m sure you’re familiar with Lucille?”
“The eccentric, soothsayer, fortune teller type….”
“Yes, that’s the one. It’s so interesting to me the way a mass of people can grab bits of obscure and not intimate encounters with a person and formulate a collective perception, while none ever actually knowing the person. It may interest you to know that she is older than anyone that ever lived here. In fact, she doesn’t actually live here.”
“How do you mean?”
“She’s an apparition. A spirit that chose to keep her energy here in Madina Lake. Moving on though, once you’ve got the pendant in your possession, bring it to her. She’ll know where its contents need to be.”

……..continued

The cross predicts the end of the world when the great Mayan calendar reaches its end point, when Jonathan sees it on the wall of the cave, it could be a sign that the world is going to end, obviously becoming a ‘scorched earth’.

Also, the 4 A’s could symbolize the 4 fixed signs of the zodiac, there are lots of groups of 4 things mentioned.

The four fixed signs of the Zodiac are:

• Taurus ()

• Leo ()

• Scorpio ()

• Aquarius ()

Fixed Signs are associated with stabilization, determination, depth and persistence. They are powerful and willfull in all they do, often achieving much more than the other two qualities. On the other hand, they can also be inflexible, rigid, stubborn, opinionated and single-minded. These traits are often paired with the need to be “correct”: they will ruthlessly fight on behalf of their beliefs, regardless of any contrary beliefs deemed sufficiently credible. Only during moments of importance or necessity would they consider changing an opinion. (From Wikipedia)

This is kind of reflective of what Adalia (or maybe the River People) are like, they have depth unlike the citizens of ML. (Or even the differences between the river people and the world :p )

Also, isn’t it weird that the symbol for Scorpio is an M and the Aquarius is Water, like M for MADINA and Water as in LAKE.

Maybe I’m crazy, of course I am, I’m also a little obsessed! Sorry if all of that was completely pointless! xx

———————————————————————————

The Disappearance of Adalia
May 29th, 1951

Local socialite Adalia, was reported missing at the early hours of Sunday morning.

She was last seen Saturday evening at the annual Arlene Ball.
Friends and family say that her behavior leading to her disappearance was “bizarre and unusual.”

“It was almost like she knew something that she wasn’t supposed to know, and it was only a matter of time before that knowledge would get her in trouble.”
In her public life, Adalia was best known for her unrelenting beauty and inimitable charm,

But in her private life, she was a much different character. A search of Adalia’s attic apartment revealed a host of secret letters she had written and received from an unknown source.

The contents of the correspondences are unknown, as they seem to be written in code and using a variety of aliases. The clues may unveil a fascinating bombshell, although, the challenge for investigators is to decipher the text, that was presumably used to conceal the identities of those with whom she corresponded.

———————————————————————————

October 19, 1951

That’s just the thing about Madina Lake.

Everyone wants to be famous.

We all want to feel that our existance in this world is louder than anyone elses.

The new souls trample each other in a quest to maintain their social status.

Meanwhile the old souls lurk in the shadows, waiting for their opportunity to……..

.make a change.

Adalia’s disappearance has shaken this town to its core.