The Ghost Pools – Chapter 41

The encounter was surreal.  This was the second time I had seen this man, and I had only now begun to recover from the shock of meeting him the first time.  Begglar and I both met him before.  He was something of a legend in the Mid-World and something of a recluse.  One of its earliest inhabitants.  He was a strikingly powerful man, but one of the most mysterious things about him was that he was over six thousand years old and his body showed no signs of his advanced age.  It is not every day you actually meet someone from the pages of Surface World history, much less named specifically within the scrolls of the Ancient Text.

Mason and I were stunned to see him sitting there along the edge of the mysterious pool, and we could not help but put our hands to our weapons when he stood to his full height.  His massive strength of form and presence made us fearful and very cautious.  His arms were thickly muscled, and despite the draping of his attire, we could see his stature bore no apparent effects of a poor diet, or sedentary lifestyle settling that naturally occurs with our Surface World bodies as they age.  His girth was expansive but well-toned, his skin burnished brown not from the effects of a scalding sun, but from the melanin level of his natural Middle-Eastern and Mesopotamian race and origin.  An origin we all share but in our very distant past.  His mind was razor-sharp and he recognized me from our previous meeting within the Surface World, mentally cataloging every nuance and detail of that prior meeting with what was akin to eidetic memory, yet somehow beyond that.
“It is good to see you again, Brian,” he said, approaching us from along the stone shore of the deep pool, “Though you are much changed from our last meeting.  What have you been eating?”

My face reddened with some slight degree of embarrassment and astonishment, and Mason studied my reaction and looked from both of us in dumbfounded shock.

“This young one looks to have been well-fed as well.  Perhaps the road ahead of you will improve you both.”

I, at last, found my voice and nodded in deference to him, lowering my hand from the hilt of my sword, ensuring it was securely sheathed, so as not to provoke this ancient and powerful man who could effortlessly crush my body and bones.

“It is a great honor to see you again too, sir.  You are well-met.”

The man stood before us, legs apart and firmly planted like two massive trees rooted into the rock and granite of the cavern floor, his massive hands and arms resting loose and easy at his sides below broad shoulders, stacked with slabs of muscle.  Despite his seven-foot frame, he was not gaunt or elongated, like professional basketball players of such height are in the Surface World.  This was a primogeniture.  An apex male, not ravaged by disease or time, or the evidentiary effects of death’s curse upon mankind, though it was still present somewhere within his powerful body.  His almond-colored eyes shown with a keenness and wisdom that was uncanny and I daresay rarely ever witnessed among men in the Surface World.  His skin gave off a sort of low-level radiance like a coppery light, that had burned steadily for many millennia, and I wondered if this was the lingering effects of the Shekinah glory spoken of within the Ancient Text from those who had physically been within the presence of the One.
I turned to Mason, smiling noticing the awe in which he too regarded this man, and said, “Mason, meet your greatest grandfather.  The seventh son in the line of Seth from Adam, the first man of all creation.”

Mason’s eyes widened, and he almost swooned at the shock within my words.

“Sir, I would like you to meet Mason.  A fellow-traveler from the Surface World and a very stout and brave young man as I have come to know recently.”

Mason bowed his head, not knowing how best to respond standing before such a presence, his bow finally sliding down to his side the shaft and tip of his arrow slackening in the bow spring, as he absent-mindedly allowed it to swing and then clatter to the floor.
The man’s hand unfolded ponderously and he extended it outward to Mason, its surface ridged and callused, yet warm and strong.  Mason hesitantly put his hand forward, though it looked so tiny and frail before such as massive palm.  Mason was mesmerized by the man and his gaze mirrored to trepidation and uncertainty and awe he felt, wondering it his hand would even survive the handshake offered him.

Seeing his hesitancy, the man remarked, “I am told that this is the customary greeting from our homeworld, though it arose long after I left it.  Is this still the case?”

Realizing he had delayed, and worried that the delay might be interpreted as rudeness, Mason stepped forward, and bravely placed his hand into the palm of the man, though his thumb would barely fit around the other man’s thumb for a full clasp, he somehow knew he could trust the wise and kind eyes studying him that, though personal danger might be present in doing so, thankfully it was not directed at him.

The massive hand closed around his paw-like an adult’s hand closing around that of an infant, with a gentle squeeze, but nothing more painful than that.  A quiet gentle reserve of power kept in check.

“Upon the Surface World, I was called Hanokh by my father Yered.  I had a son of my own, yet at a very early age.  I was so young then.  Three-score and five revolutions of the Great Light.  My son had hair the color of red fire similar to yours.  You remind me of him in some ways.  I miss him dearly.  I was given a special promise for him when he was born.  I can tell there is something about you, young man.  I believe you were born under a great promise as well.”

Something unspoken and private was exchanged between the two men, that seemed to have a profound effect upon Mason’s countenance, and he blushed unconsciously, much the way that I had done.

“You would do well to live to find out what that promise is, Mason.”

As Hanokh released Mason’s hand, Mason felt a warmth pervade his body, pushing away the coldness that had seeped into his limbs from the ice and wind outside and the still dampness that had soaked his legs when we had partially fallen through the ice into the lake water.  He rubbed his fingers together, feeling a tingling sensation, similar to what he’d felt from touching the Pearl.

“Thank you, sir,” Mason replied, euphoric in this once in a lifetime experience to meet someone whose reputation went beyond that of hero, celebrity or superstar.  This man had the reputation of having walked with and in the presence of the One for over three hundred years.  The wisdom of this man must be of unplumbed depth, a bottomless well of insight and intelligence.

Hanokh turned to me and extended his hand, but clapped me on the shoulder as was his custom, and nodded his greeting.

“You are well-met, indeed,” and he inclined his head toward the direction from which we had come.

“What brings you and young Mason here at this time?”

“We have a friend who was injured by a Manticore.  She is losing her lifeblood.  I had hoped one of the Ghost Pools might provide a cure.”

Hanokh breathed deeply, his thick brow furrowing slightly, “No amount of water from this pool or a rain puddle along the ground will heal her.  That power comes from the One alone.  Does she hold faith to the One?”

“She does,” I answered emphatically.

“Then it is by faith alone that she will be made whole.  The waters here are useless for healing, as some of those others serving as priests here discovered.  Swimming naked, indeed!  Utter nonsense.  I believe that foolishness provoked the creatures to come forth.  You may have seen them?”

“Yes,” I confirmed, “We fought and took the lives of five of them, along with their vile brood.  There may be a few young ones remaining outside, but we cannot tell.  We brought down a ceiling of ice upon them, and killed those attempting to reach us when we fled into these caves below the Trathorn Falls.”

Hanokh regarded me with a slight smile playing along the edge of his mouth.

“Then you have done well, my son.  These creatures do not belong in either world.  It is not right that they should corrupt the Mid-World with their presence.  Their blood is unnatural and will cause blight, infection, and decay.  Where has it fallen?  The ground and waters will require cleansing.”

“So that’s what it was doing?” Mason said.

Hanokh looked to me for clarification.

“I was given a very large pearl that moves mysteriously and has, so far, taken the blood upon itself.”

“A pearl,” Hanokh looked away thoughtfully, “Yes. That makes sense.  And how did you come by this pearl?”

“That is what does not make much sense to me.  It was a Pearl that came from within the tongue of a great beast called a Dust Dragon.  The creature pursued us and I was forced to confront it before it destroyed the foundations of the old city of Azragoth.”

“So the third serpent has arrived in the Mid-World at last, has he?  This was foretold.  And this pearl was contained within the mouth of the beast, was it?”

“Yes.  I was empowered by The Word and its quickening to cut it out of the jaws of the beast.  I still do not understand how I survived the battle.”

“This pearl is much more than you may think it is.  This is an image and forecasting of the One who is Truth.”

“Yes.  I have wondered about it.  Why it would be within the mouth and tongue of a Dust Dragon.”

“Have you?” he arched an eyebrow, “I would think the reasons should be clear.”

I waited, wanting to hear his perspective on it, yet knowing that time was still running short for Maeven.

“We have spoken of this before when you served under another.  Has the memory of mankind so degraded that you have forgotten?  I was told the oral traditions would one day cease and that the words should be preserved in a language of symbols.  Death truly has stolen much from the minds and memory of mankind.  Be that as it may, for this young man’s benefit, I shall state it again.”

Here he turned to Mason, “Young man, your name portends great things in store for you.  Listen well, so that you may remind others when age tries to steal their memory of it:

There were three eternal stones that The One fashioned from Himself.  The Praesporos Stone, The Cordis Stone, and The Fidelis Stone.  These are the keystones for which your generations were called to bear in the Mid-World quests.   Each one of the stones is assigned a supernatural enemy to contain them.  Three great serpents from Eden: one of air, one of water and one of dust.  They are equipped to pursue the chosen from fleeing by flight, by sea or by land.  They are charged to prevent the called forth from discovering them and unlocking the kingdom gate of Excavatia.”

“So this pearl,” I queried, “may very well be The Fidelis Stone?”

“As each stone is paired with an enemy, and your enemy took the form of the last remaining serpent what would you say?”

Stunned, I had to steady myself against the cavern wall to keep from falling.

“But the beast, by pursuing me, brought it to me.”

“Such is the prerogative of The Almighty.  He uses what seems foolish to confound the wise, and by it, He reveals His deeper workings.  Even the schemes of the enemy ultimately work against him.  The One sees all things and knows the end from the beginning, and demonstrates that to all who walk with Him and open their hearts.”

“But you are a prophet.  The first, in fact.  He told you of things to come.”

“Prophets are only given the form of things to come.  The details are revealed by experiencing them as they unfold.  Just because prophets are told the form, does not mean we are not required to trust Him with the details of the unfolding.  You have heard it said that ‘the just shall live by faith.’  There is a day coming when all will be revealed, but until that time, we are given a measure of time to learn how to trust Him, even when death pursues us.  Those creatures we contend with here are incarnations of devils committed to the condemnation of humankind.  They wound and discourage our sisters and brethren with partial truths embellished into falsehoods.  You have seen this happen with the ones they call Trolls.  That ability is connected to these creatures and these very waters.  I have traced the cause back to this place.”

“This place?”

“Certain pools.  The Xarmnians have stockpiled barrels of the dark waters from one of these pools.  They were purchased from a former priest who was given charge over them.  It is from these unnatural waters that they derived their mysterious elixir.  I also believe that the seepage from these pools is poisoning the rivers of the Trathorn and all other rivers that are fed from its waters.  Many villages in the valleys below rely on the Trathorn for their drinking water.  It feeds the underground wells and waters their stock and fields.  They are becoming more receptive to the Xarmnian offers of protection and provision.  Many have turned away from trusting in The One, because of fear.”

It was quite a bit to take in.

“Have the Azragothians been told this?”

“They will be.  And soon.  Fear is an enemy.  There are still those within Azragoth that are bound by it.  Those who are influenced by outside forces.”

“So why do the people of the Mid-World need us?” Mason asked, “What can we do?  We can barely save ourselves.  None of us are trained fighters.”

“But that is not what is called for, young Mason.  The Ancient Text reveals what is to come.  All of creation, occupying both the Surface and the Mid-World lies in waiting for God’s children to come to the full knowledge of who they really are.  For their identities to be revealed, not just to the worlds at large, but to themselves as well.  Only then will they awaken to the Truth and The Kingdom.”

19 For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. 20 Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, 21 the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. 22 For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.  [Romans 8:19-22 NLT]

“We are a race that has fallen.  All are condemned by our choices and actions against the One and our curse is passed from generation to generation so that all mankind lives to resist the loving call of the One.  We are so greatly loved, Brian and Mason.  You cannot imagine how great is the love of the One.  We are His delight.  He longs to fellowship with us and bring us into His presence and show us the many wonders of the worlds He has created for us.  Yet we choose to remain at a distance and live lives that cause us to be further and further away from Him.  His Holy Presence burns with a refining fire that we cannot survive if we are covered by the stain of our rebellion.  That stain is highly flammable and must be kept at a distance from His White Holy Fire.  Had it not been for the Blood Covering, none of us would ever be able to come into His Physical Presence again.  We cannot imagine what lengths the Deceiver has gone to steal us away from that Fellowship.  We cannot imagine how deeply the Father grieves that He was unable to hold and embrace His children and that one day, the Deceiver even might cause His children to forget that their Loving Father ever existed.  What was even worse still is those who know and have a sense that the One waits for and yearns for them, yet they choose to live as if He never existed or has cruelly abandoned them.  The Pearl in the Dragon’s throat is the one tenet of truth that it employs to weaken us beyond hearing all other truths that follow it.  It is the one truth that because we have personally turned from our Father, we stand condemned by our actions and choices.  This is the truth.  But the Blood of the One changes all of that and satisfies all penalties, past, present, and future, for the one soul that chooses Him and allow that payment to serve upon their account and cover them with an invisible Shekinah glory that allows them to stand in the days of evil under the onslaught of the wicked ones, emerging from any world.  For those covered by faith, they must believe that the Truth that condemned them also worked and moved heaven and earth to redeem them.  All living things, in Heaven and on Earth, seen and unseen, require Truth to have life.  That is why the deceivers must have at least one element of truth to become what they are.  Without an element of truth, no creature under heaven can exist, so there remains the one point in which they were touched by the Hand of the One.  That one point of truth lies within every living being in all of creation.  It is immutable, constant and present, and that truth will never die.”

As I said, I am in awe of this man.  His knowledge and depth never cease to amaze me and stir within me a desire to know more and more.  Time seems to become so unimportant in his presence, but I know that it is not just from him that this craving and thirst comes from.  It arises from the Presence of Whom he has been in contact with.  The One every redeemed soul longs for yet may not consciously understand that this is where it comes from.  A place where each one of us wake up to find that we have been on a long and arduous journey, full of heartache, difficulty, sickness, and pain, yet we finally top a horizon from the dark valley of our existence and see the lights of a place we have been seeking since we first drew breath.  A place that we know and recognize.  A place that has had a calling upon us and stirred a yearning within us.  A place where we are wanted, expected and belong.  A place called home.  A place that has a Father scanning the horizon for us every moment of every day.  A place where our entire being, body, soul, and spirit is clothed fed and nurtured and embraced and celebrated.  The place where we find our Presence within The Presence.  A place that I have come to refer to by a name not used by others yet is meaningful to me.  Excavatia, the place of Full Fellowship.

Remembering my reasons for being here, I mentally shook myself and looked to Hanokh, seeking guidance.

“So, is there any point in bringing Maeven here to these pools?”

Hanokh smiled and chuckled, “I did not say that, my friend.  I only said that trusting in the waters alone would have no effect, but it was by faith that she will be made whole.”

“So, we can bring her here?”

“Most certainly!” he grinned, “But you must clean up the mess made first.  Remove the cursed beings from this world and consign them back into the void from which they came.”

“And how exactly do I do that?”

Hanokh stared at me a moment as if I had lost my mind and spoke a language of gibberish.

“I am so amazed at how little you remember or know of the authority in which you have been given by the One?  Have you not been trained on The Beckoning?  I see you bear an Honor Sword there at your hip.  Have you not been told that those things you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven?  Where do you think that heavenly realm is, if not here among the Mid-Worlds where supernatural presences walk in the betweenness before the realms of the Great Throne Room of the heavens?”

“What should I do?”

“These waters, you call Ghost Pools are Calling Waters.  They summon images from the Other World, our origin world, but they also are erstwhile portals of a sort and occasionally allow something or someone to pass through them.  You will need to stand in faith and confidence, take authority through your Spirit and agree with the One on what must be done.  Bind yourself in obedience to His directing, bind your Honor Sword in sworn covenant and touch the waters of these pools and call these vile creatures back into the Abyss from which they arose.  Though you may believe you and your company has killed these creatures I assure you, that you have not.  You have only slain their forms.  If they remain they will find other forms to inhabit within the Mid-World.  You must consign them back to the deep.”

“Will you help us?” Mason asked.

Hanokh regarded him with a warm smile, “I am helping you, my son.  This is something your called one must do.  It falls to him as the one called by the One to lead this assignment.  My time with you here is almost done.  I feel compelled to go seek another with the messages I have been given by the One.  I am one who was called to be sent.  One day, perhaps very soon I will return to the Surface World, and I will, at last, be given leave to accomplish that for which I have been shepherded here in reserve.  I will then go to the land of my fathers and be reunited with my brothers and sisters who have long since passed on unto the halls of the Great Throne.  My spirit is much like these pools here.  I am stirred to speak and act and tell a great many things that will bring trouble upon these lands and upon the land of my ancestors.  My soul and heart are prepared for what has been ordained for me.  I lack nothing, yet I know what it is like to yearn for a family that has perished.  The Father’s heart and mine commune and like a child yearns for their parent, so my soul longs to embrace my wife and son once more, kept within the bosom of the One.  They await me, and I await them.  I must leave you now, to do that which must be done here.  Follow the inner voice of the One.  You are loved.  It will never lead you astray, though everything else will.  When all other voices shout for you, find the stillness and quiet place within your heart.  Listen intently and intentionally, and He will speak to you, though you may enter the darkest places, from within you will always find enough light to walk in His Path.  Learn to hear His Voice above all others.  Go even if the way ahead looks impossible if He tells you to go.  In this, you will find your way.”

Mason was visibly shaken, “You’re going to leave us, then?”

“I must, young Mason,” Hanokh responded, “But that is not to say that our paths might not cross again.  It is only that I must go ahead of you a ways to accomplish the mission for which my life was promised as well.  Take courage, young Mason.  You never walk alone.”

And then he once again turned to me, “I feel your friend will be healed by the faith in which she holds, but you will need to ease her into the central pool ahead, not one of the ones in which the creatures will return.  Mark well which ones receive the bodies of these beasts and do not enter then once those creatures pass through.  Once your friend has recovered, there is a further pool deeper in that you are meant to see, just beyond that dark narrow passage there.  I believe what you will find may come as quite a shock, but it further shows how short the time is becoming between the end of my sojourn in these Mid-Worlds and my return back to the Surface World once again.  Heed well all you observe there, then proceed onward to find the next connection of story you seek.  My time has drawn near, and I must take my leave of you.  Hold to the words of the Ancient Text.  They are the one blessing that my gift to the Surface World holds throughout memory and time.  Your generations have forgotten much, but the Ancient Text will lead you back to the One.”

“Wait,” Mason pleaded, “Please don’t go.  We are not sure of what we’re doing here or of where we are going?  How will we know what we should do to follow the One?”

Hanokh placed a steadying hand on Mason’s shoulder and looked him directly in the eye, “Mason.  Do you know what your name means?”

Mason shook his head, “I’ve never really thought about it.  It’s just a name I am known by.”

Hanokh smiled and shook his head in amazement, “No.  It is not just a name.  It is a calling.  It means a solid builder with stones.  You are a foundation layer.  A staunch companion and as valuable as any other on this quest.  There is a passage in the Ancient Text that faithfully records the voice of the One speaking about foundations.  It reads thus:

“24 “Every one then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house upon the rock; 25 and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And every one who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house upon the sand; 27 and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell; and great was the fall of it.”” [Matthew 7:24-27 RSV]

This verse could very well be your life verse, young Mason.  You are called to be a wise builder.  To establish yourself and others upon the rock and build walls that will stand and protect others against the storms ahead.  You are a reliable and trustworthy person, solid and immutable.  All confidence given you is well placed for you are loyal and constant.  Your name means something as does the life you live under it.  Never forget that.”

A tear formed in Mason’s eye, and it coursed down his cheek, as he stood bravely under the direct gaze of Hanokh, receiving praise for his person and his potential and value.

“Back in my days upon the Surface World, names were given in ceremony and with much thought as to what meaning they held during the times into which they were born.  A father who wanted to bless his child thought long and well upon what their child would be called, whether as a blessing or as a curse.  My name too has a meaning.  It is the word for delivering valuable information to someone, not merely as a message, but more fully as a transfer of both knowledge and skill.  My name means ‘to teach’ or ‘teaching’.  I am Hanokh.  The teacher.  But you have something very special inside of you that far exceeds all knowledge and skill that I could share with you.  You have invested within your being the part of the One who was my teacher.  The Ancient Text tells us:

“27 As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him.” [1 John 2:27 NASB]

Trust the voice of the One who called you to this quest and will teach you in all things as you need them.  Learn as I learned.  Find fellowship with the One and you will always have everything you need for the task and trial through which you must walk.  Follow and support your guide.  Brian will need your solid support.  He has been given the vision of what must follow.  As he relies on the One, you can be sure that this will bring you all to a good place and help you accomplish all that you were called to do.”

With that Hanokh turned and looked at me one last time, “Brian.  Your name requires you to allow strength to come to these moments of need and of testing.  Live your name.  Stay strong and focused.  Remember this, though it may seem strange to you now.  Within these caverns, there are mysteries hidden and mysteries revealed.  Take care that you are not deceived.  The way in is not the way out.  Until we meet again my friends in this life or the next, I bid you all blessings of the One.”

And then he strode off into the darkness beyond the initial cave pool through an aperture in the cave wall that he barely fit through and then faded into the darkness beyond.

Mason and I were both stunned and remained silent a moment, looking about us and examining the cave and the mysterious topaz water glowing with some phosphorescence below.  In the distance, we could hear the continual bubbling sound as water fell to water churning the rippling surface into an echoing hollowed song of melancholy.  The voices of the water reverberated through the chambers and palaces of stone, coming from one direction only, while a quiet stillness seemed two whisper low unintelligible notes into the other three passages beyond the curtains of ice.

Mason looked at me and wiped his eye with his sleeve.

“It almost doesn’t seem real, does it?”

I nodded, “That is how it always feels in that man’s presence.  Like something bigger has transpired than I could even perceive.”

“Was that really him?” he asked.

“It was.  I cannot say how I know that, but sometimes you just feel when things are true.”

Mason nodded, “I never really thought about him as a character.  He is not a topic we ever covered in Sunday school.  What did he mean by the gift he gave to mankind?  What was he talking about?”

I gazed at him and smiled, “Don’t you know?”

Mason looked at me further intrigued, “Know what?”

“Consider where the earliest records came from and consider how old he must be in terms of Surface World years.”

“From him?”

I nodded. “If you have not read the passage in the Ancient Text passage ascribed to the brother of the incarnated One you should do so again.  That man is referenced in the text as only of the first recorded person to give a prophetic vision concern the time and age in which we now live in the Surface World.  His words were recorded for all posterity’s sake so that they would endure throughout the millennia to come.”

Mason thought about that for a moment and then asked a most logical question.

“Why is that particularly standing out?  The words of many prophets are recorded in the Ancient Text.”

I grinned, and clasped his arm in friendship and fellowship, as I revealed to him a mystery I had had to come to myself.

“Because at the time he gave the prophecy, there was no known written language, yet the prophecy is given as a specific quote.”

“A quote?!” Mason exclaimed, realizing with a shock what they seemed to imply, “Do you mean to say…”

“That he wrote it down,” I answered, nodding again, “The earliest known written language from the Akkadians and Sumerians was from cuneiform clay tablets believed to have been written in the 9^th millennium B.C.  Whatever written language Hanokh wrote his teachings would have been recorded long before then.  We believe Hanokh, or Enoch as he is called in our language, is the father of all written language.  That he developed the proto-alphabet to record what happened in his time for times forward.  Death entered the human species exactly as the One said it did, on the day both Adam and Havah, whom we know as Eve, ate of the forbidden fruit.  On that day, they became mortal and they and our species began our inevitable journey to death.  As a perfect man and woman, both had the capacity for wisdom and knowledge beyond anything we can imagine.  Their minds were constantly quickened and bright with the glory of time spent with the One.  It was only later that disease and fatigue and failure of the mind began to take hold and overtake those among the living and cause them to die.  Back in Hanokh’s day, and in the days of his father and his father’s father, a great apostasy was taking place.  In fact, the name of Yered, Hanokh’s father had a meaning too.  It meant to descend or come down from a height.  We have speculated that this was the time in which fallen creatures came from the heavens and tried to corrupt the seed of man and prevent the seed of woman bearing forth the prophecy of the One to come.  It is quite possible, that Enoch is the father of all written language and the reason why we have books and stories today.  He recorded and captured the first stories, and taught others to capture and record them, using the proto-alphabet he developed.  Did you notice how he kept referring to the ideas we forget and how the changes in us now dull our memory to important things we should know?”

Mason steadied himself, suddenly feeling his knees weaken to the point where he needed bolstering and to place his hands on something solid, firm and immovable.

“So Hanokh is essentially the human father of all stories.”

I nodded.

“He is the reason we are here, and on this quest to recover the lost stories.”

“To the best of my understanding, yes.” I concurred.

“So, the Ancient Text we have was brought about in part due to him.”

“He was an instrument of it, yes.”

Mason now needed to lean against the wall and look up at the lights of the water casting its phosphorescent glowing rings and loops dancing above us on the cavern ceiling.  It was an almost dizzy effect, coupled with the shock of this revelation.  Of having just been in the presence of the one person whose obedience and faithfulness led to preserving the truths of the Ancient Text in writing for all generations to come afterward.  Mason looked from the ceiling to the cave passage into which Hanokh had disappeared and then back to me.

“How does he know about the Ancient Text that was written after he left?”

“He committed it all to memory.  Remember that he walked in fellowship with The One who is timeless.  He was given the privilege of reading what was fully written on The Marker Stone when he came to the Mid-World.  And he copied that text and preserved it here for others to follow.”

“They’ll never believe this if we tell them,” he asked, “Will they?”

I shrugged, “I do not know what they will believe.  Perhaps we need to wait until the time is right for it.  As Hanokh said, he may meet us on the road ahead.  It is kind of hard to describe the presence of the man unless one is standing before him.  He doesn’t present himself as more than he is, and one might never get the full story from him if he has to cast himself in the role as its hero.  I am amazed at the humility of the man and his lack of pretense.  He lives with none of the artifices of modern mankind.”

Mason nodded emphatically, “Yeah, it as if it never occurs to him to say anything more than is necessary and the absolute truth.”

“Remember his prophesy shows he detests and condemns all artifice.  The Ancient Text passage written by the One’s earthly brother reads as follows:

“12 When these people eat with you in your fellowship meals commemorating the Lord’s love, they are like dangerous reefs that can shipwreck you. They are like shameless shepherds who care only for themselves. They are like clouds blowing over the land without giving any rain. They are like trees in autumn that are doubly dead, for they bear no fruit and have been pulled up by the roots. 13 They are like wild waves of the sea, churning up the foam of their shameful deeds. They are like wandering stars, doomed forever to blackest darkness. 14 Enoch, who lived in the seventh generation after Adam, prophesied about these people. He said, “Listen! The Lord is coming with countless thousands of his holy ones 15 to execute judgment on the people of the world. He will convict every person of all the ungodly things they have done and for all the insults that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” 16 These people are grumblers and complainers, living only to satisfy their desires. They brag loudly about themselves, and they flatter others to get what they want.” [Jude 1:12-16 NLT]”

“I doubt if he had remained with us, the two others among our company who are hiding who they are, would be able to deceive him.  That banshee would have been exposed almost immediately.  He does not suffer fools.  Nell believes there is a reason not to expose the two in our company who are from these lands and not the Surface World, and I have a strong inclination to agree.  They will be allowed to remain with us, but I am telling you this in confidence, because, as Hanokh said, I believe you to be someone in whom we can rely on.  Hanokh is an excellent judge of character, so you can always trust what he says about you, even if you may doubt it yourself.  He knows things and discerns much.  I doubt any person’s true character could be hidden from him because he continues to walk in fellowship with the One.”

Mason sighed and then laughed and then seemed to gather the strength that he needed.

“So, are we doing this?”

I grinned and put my hand to the hilt of my Honor Sword.  Together we walked to the edge of the shimmering blue Ghost Pool and I withdrew the blade and unwrapped the Bloodline and Mason helped me bind it about my wrist and arm.

“Let’s do this together.  I need your help and support.”

“What do you need me to do?”

“Place your hands over my hands as we dip the blade into the water.  Repeat after me but mean and feel the words.  We must be in agreement together to allow this to happen.”

“Is there a verse for that?”

“Yes, there is.  It is found in the gospel of Matthew and reads thus:

“19 “I also tell you this: If two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you. 20 For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.”” [Matthew 18:19-20 NLT]”

“Remember that Hanokh told us these waters have no power of themselves, but to actuate faith and allow the Authority of the One to come into this moment, I believe we will see something miraculous happen.”

Mason stood next to me as we dangled the Honor Sword’s tip above the water of the Ghost Pool, placing his hands over my hands as we held to the cross-guard of the sword.  We slowly dipped it into the water…and the Honor Sword and our wrists began to glow with blue light.