Conjuring a hole in the universe might have been a mistake, but it was the only way out of the wasteland that Harry found himself in. It was the darkness on the other side that caused him to hesitate. Especially the pair of black pools that stared back at him. Maybe where he was now was safer than whatever waited on the other side.
Harrison Chase woke up one day to puberty. Unlike other boys his age, his came with a special feature. Over the years he learned to master both his hormones and his magic powers. And all of that culminated in his being dropped into a radioactive wasteland. If he stayed, he might die. The same could be said if he leapt through that hole he just made.
While Harry stood there mulling his options, the black pools shrank and a set of sharp teeth appeared. The teeth slowly became part of a smile as lips formed around them. The dark pools were surrounded by emerald rings. The abyss snorted. The head of a dragon pierced the darkness and settled on the ground in front of him. “Are you lost?” the dragon hissed. “I can help you find your way home.”
Harry sighed. “I would really appreciate that.” He stepped forward. “Do you have a name?” Seeing the dragon’s hesitation, he quickly added, “so I know who to thank.”
“As it would happen, I am called Merlin of Mirkwood. And you would be?”
“Oh, yes, sorry. Harrison Chase, but my friends call me Harry.”
Merlin wrapped his claws around Harry and pulled him through to the other side of the hole. He set Harry down gently on top of a nearby mountain. “You might want to close that hole.” His claw tapped the ground beneath it.
Harry raised his right hand and closed the aperture breaking the link with where he had been. “Now, about getting me home?”
“Patience! Merlin does nothing in haste.” The dragon slowly lay his head against the cliff. “Climb on. I shall carry you to the place you need to be to return home.”
Harry hesitated. Trusting a dragon was risky business. “Well?” Merlin drawled. Harry climbed on the dragon’s back and took a seat between Merlin’s horns. The dragon lumbered ahead taking care not to lose his passenger. “Where did you say you were from? I need to know if I’m going to take you to the right spot.”
“I didn’t.” Harry shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “I’m from Earth.”
“Never heard of it.” Merlin stopped briefly. “Does it have another name?”
“It has a few. Terra. Gaia. Sol 3.” Upon hearing a name that he recognized, Merlin turned around and headed back in the direction from which they came.
“Now, Gaia, I have heard of. Why didn’t you say so to begin with? We’ve been heading in the wrong direction.” A short while later, Merlin stopped at the mountain where he picked up the young wizard. “Here we are. If you make a portal here, it’ll take you back to Gaia. In fact, I was headed there myself.”
Before Harry could cast a spell, a portal opened to a vast green meadow. Merlin carried Harry through into the bright sunshine. Once in the meadow, Merlin encouraged Harry to dismount. “Ah, that’s better. A real weight off my mind, if you get my drift.” Merlin’s voice was that off a gruff old man. And that is what Harry saw standing before him.
The old man was beardless but grey-haired. His wizened face was punctuated by his green eyes. “Have I done it wrong?” The old man took stock of his hands and feet. “Is there something wrong with my face perhaps?”
“No, no, it’s fine. I just wasn’t expecting you to change.”
“Well, they hunt dragons around here. And I am rather fond of not dying any time soon.” He started walking across the expanse of the meadow. “Hurry, we need to get to the forest before nightfall.”
“Why?” Harry jogged to keep up with Merlin.
“Because it is dangerous to be out in the Elyssian fields at night. The trees will protect us from the wild spirits.”
“That makes no sense. Isn’t this Gaia?”
“Not yet. Still a way to go.” Merlin paused to allow Harry to catch up to him. Well, before sunset the duo reached the forest and followed a beaten path to a clearing. An ancient willow stood in the center. Merlin rapped on the bark. “It is I, Merlin of Mirkwood, and a friend asking for your mercy for the night.” The ancient tree rustled to life and gently raised each of them above the forest floor. “We’ll be safe here, Harry. She will protect us until morning’s light.”
While Merlin conversed with the willow in a strange tongue, Harry reclined on a branch and soon fell sound asleep cocooned by the willow’s vines. When morning came, a shrill whistle echoed through the forest. Harry startled awake only to discover himself bound to the branch. During his brief struggle to free himself, he realized that he likely would have fallen to his death had he not been bound. “Thank you, dear Willow.” Harry had no idea if the tree understood him. “Could you let me go now?”
“Patience, Harry. She will let us go when it is safe. The sun has barely risen this morn. And it takes time for the wild spirits to disperse.” And as promised, the willow released its grip, unwrapped its vines, and set them gently on the forest floor. A nearby quince offered its fruit and chatted with Merlin. Harry was surprised by the tree’s generosity. “Please don’t flatter that one, Harry. We scatter her seeds about as we nourish ourselves with her fleshy fruit. She is doing us no favor.”
Just as the sun rose fully over the horizon, it became a portal to their next world on the journey home. On the other side lay a landscape of steamy pools and barren rock. Merlin was a dragon again. “Come, Harry.” The great beast had bent down his head. “Let me carry you through this wretched place. But remember to stay still and quiet should we meet another creature here.”
Harry considered that good advice when they did indeed meet another creature. It stood as tall as the dragon, and had Merlin not taken care to shield his presence, Harry was certain that it would have plucked him off and eaten him. He listened intently to the conversation of the two beasts in a strange language that he somehow understood. They spoke of past times on Gaia when their kind had once ruled. The gryphon, for the beast had the head of an eagle, but the body of a lion, joked about the “ape uprising” that drove them out of that little paradise. And then Merlin journeyed on to the next portal.
The steaming pool gave way to blackness as they entered the next realm clothed in night. Harry would have welcomed some moonlight but there were only a few scattered stars. Merlin lumbered onward, letting loose an occasional roar to frighten away the glowing eyes of whatever crept toward them in the night. Harry couldn’t tell if his eyes were adjusting or the sun were rising as he could see what it was that Merlin was keeping at bay. They were miserable looking creatures. Harry would have to ask what they were when it was safe to do so.
Whatever they were, they did not like the sunlight as they all took refuge when it rose. Ahead of the travelers lay a sheer cliff wall. Harry found himself clutching the dragon’s horns as it climbed out of the crater they had been traversing. Feeling safe to speak, Harry asked his question. “What were those strange creatures?”
“They were goblins, and they would have eaten you. But they have no taste for dragons. They fear being eaten by us. That is why I roared so.” Satisfied with that answer, Harry lay back to nap on the slow-moving beast.
After a half day’s journey, they arrived at another crater. “Hold on tight, wizard.” Merlin leapt for the center of the crater and the two fell through to another world. This one was chill and inhospitable to dragons. Here, Merlin took on the form of the old man again. They walked ahead in silence as each exhale turned to snow. Their cloaks held back the freezing air over the distance to a stone castle coated in rime.
“We should rest here. A fire will keep us warm. When the embers die, it will be time to leave.” The old man led them to a small room furnished with a large fireplace. With a flick of his fingers, the log in the hearth burst into flame and the two lay near the roaring fire. As the fire died out, it began to crackle and pop. The noise woke the two sleepers who breakfasted on the fruit carried in Harry’s pack.
Merlin led Harry up the long circular stairway to the top of the castle keep. A vortex formed just outside the parapet. “Jump, Harry. Your home isn’t that much farther.” Their fall was a short survivable one with an uncomfortable landing in a corn field.
Harry picked himself up off the broken cornstalks and brushed the dirt off his clothes. “Are we there yet?”
“I am. But I have no idea where your home is on this rock.”
Harry followed the old man out to a familiar road. “I grew up on a farm like this. We raised dairy cattle. Had to grow a lot of corn and hay. Probably a good thing too when my magic talents began to show up.”
“Oh, how so?” Merlin asked as he altered his clothing. His walking staff became a pen that he tucked into his shirt pocket.
“Not a lot of neighbors to see what I was up to, for one. And I could also hide it from my mom. And my grandparents would have sent me away to a mental hospital or called in a priest.”
“Yes, I can see how that would have been a problem. And your father?”
“I’ve never met my father. I don’t really know much about him.”
“Your mother never talks about him? He must have hurt her something awful.”
“He left. She never heard from him again. He doesn’t know about me. After a while she stopped wondering.”
Harry stopped walking just outside the gate to an old iron fence surrounding a two-story farmhouse. Merlin continued through the gate and walked up the steps to the front door. He twisted the knob on the old-fashioned doorbell and waited. Harry just stared.
A woman came to the door and stepped out onto the porch. She hugged Merlin and then slapped him hard across his cheek. “How dare you come back here? Whatever made you think I would want to see you again? You abandoned me – you abandoned us!”
“To be fair, Lydia, your parents weren’t exactly fond of me. And I told you when we met that I couldn’t stay around.” Merlin paused for a moment. “What do you mean by ‘us’?” He turned just as Harry was walking up the steps.
“Hello, Mother. It’s good to see you looking well?”
“Merle, I’d like you to meet your son.” Lydia took hold of Harry’s elbow. “Harry, this is your wayward father.”
“We’ve met.” Harry put his arm around her waist loosening her grip on his elbow. “What do you say we go inside and have some tea?”
“I’ve just put on a pot of coffee.”
