The Secret of the Dragon - The Revelations of the Sacred Papyruses Read online

  “Remember that Solomon said that Jesus was a simple man. So he could have used a wooden chalice.” reasoned Hayex.

  “Yes, but Jesus was a king, and I do not think he would a wooden cup.” said Califax.

  “Yes, and I never knew of a king whose followers ended up crucifying him. Everything is possible, my friend.”

  “Do you really think it is that one?” reflected Califax, taking his chin into his claw.

  “Why don’t we take them all?” suggested Hayex. “That way, we can be sure.”

  “It seems too easy to me. There must be a trick to all this.” Califax mused.

  “Perhaps the light of the elektrons will direct us to the chalice, my friend.” hoped Hayex.

  They went back inside the temple where the key was still whirling and the golden lights continued to illuminate the place. After some time of watching them, they concluded that the light formed a grail, whose base pointed to the exit and the mouth to the chalice made of wood. So, they went to the wooden chalice and slowly removed the protective shield from it. Califax took it gently in his claws. Then, the remaining cups slowly sank back to wherever they had come from, and the chance to gather the other chalices was gone.

  “I told you there was a trick to all this, Hayex.” murmured the dragon, as he watched how they disappeared into the depths.

  Suddenly, an outcry rang out through the night. A short distance away, they saw a huge cloud of dust that was threatening to gobble the brave travelers, and there was no way to avoid it. It was a troop of Celtic soldiers who had discovered the presence of the intruders in the sacred temple.

  Even though they hurried to pick up the Key, the determined adventurers lost valuable time that could have cost them dearly: their lives.

  They took flight from the interior of Peel Dagda, trying to avoid the large numbers of arrows and spears that the men rained down upon them. However, as one arrow found its mark, hitting Califax’s right wing, which caused him to fall resoundingly in an open area of that solitary steppe. Knowing that they had wounded their prey, the soldiers started the persecution. The swift horses of the warriors devoured the distance that separated them from their prey, but when they were just a few yards from the pair, Hayex, bravely leapt between Califax and the fearsome soldiers.

  Suddenly, the men stopped in their tracks, turned and ran away terrified, as if an imposing creature threatened to destroy them in one blow. Hayex swelled with pride and wiped his hands as if to say ‘finished’ when he saw how the soldiers scurried in panic. He turned to where his friend waited for him. Then he saw something that made him freeze in his tracks: two formidable figures who had been standing behind his back all the time. A gigantic Pantesux dragon extended his claw to the perplexed gargoyle who stammered:

  “Who are you two?”

  “I am Crulux and this is Dragax, guards of the royal court of Dragonia, my friend. Who are you?” he asked with a deep voice.

  “I am Hayex, friend and comrade of Califax, the Grand Dragon of the Sacred Chalice.” he proclaimed proudly in response to the friendly gesture of the saurian.

  Hayex and his new and enormous companions quickly went to Califax’s rescue. Califax was surprised to see these unexpected benefactors. Fortunately, the arrow had not hit any important veins and the membrane of his wing would heal quickly.

  Crulux explained his presence saying that he was following his Novax’s orders to patrol a large area of Briton, together with other dragons. This was due to Novax’s great concern for Califax, and who was desperate to know how he was doing with his quest.

  “In fact, our orders were to find your body and return it to Dragonia.” explained Crulux, with a wink, though his tone seemed rather cold-hearted.

  “It appears that it is not my time yet, Crulux. Please, tell my father that I will soon bring what I promised him back to Dragonia.” he declared.

  “Will you be all right, Califax?” asked Crulux, amicably.

  “Yes. Do not worry. Hayex will take care of me.” he assured them.

  “We will be in the area for a short time longer if you need anything.” Crulux offered.

  Crulux and Dragax took flight and their grey figures soon became enveloped in the deep darkness. After bandaging Califax’s wound with some mud, Hayex made a comfortable bed for the dragon, deep in the safety of the woods. They took turns guarding the valuable treasure, which had cost them so much effort to find.

  “You risked your life for me, my friend.” thanked Califax.

  “It was nothing. Crulux and Dragax were there all the time.” admitted the gargoyle.

  “True, but you did not know they were there.” Califax grinned.

  “It is the least that I could do for the one who saved my life.” smiled Hayex as he tended to Califax’s wound.

  “Who better than a mud expert to apply a mud patch?” Califax joked with a thankful smile.

  ***

  7

  The Guardian of Ra

  The night waned giving way to the light of dawn. The brave globetrotters woke up from their deep slumber that overwhelmed them. The recent disquieting events they had lived through had not given them time to take a well-deserved and invigorating rest. Tracks of sleeplessness were reflected in their tired and ashen colored faces.

  Califax inspected the wound on his wing and observed that it was healing well, but it was still had not healed enough for him to fly.

  “From what I can see, I will have to feed and take care of you.” commented Hayex.

  “I hope I do not cause you too much trouble with all this, my friend.” smiled Califax.

  With no other option than to go in search of the day’s meal, the gargoyle walked towards the human dwellings. After a short time, he found a small farm, not too far from the refuge.

  Given his past, bitter experiences on farms, he made sure the farmers were occupied in their daily work. He watched them carefully from behind an enormous tree trunk.

  As he timed the farmer’s movements about the farm, in order to choose an opportune time to seek out food, he felt a small hand touched his back, softly.

  “What kind of a thing are you?” asked a small six-year-old girl, who gave a big scare to the gargoyle.

  His face turned the color of a snowflake. Hayex breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that it was only a little human girl. He regained his color and asked her:

  “Who are you?”

  “I am Udrie.” said the little girl in a tiny, musical voice.

  “My name is Hayex and I am a gargoyle. What are you doing here?”

  “I am looking for my cat. I think he is lost.” she explained with a worried look.

  “A delicious cat?” said Hayex, licking his lips over and over again.

  “What did you say…?” asked the little girl in a concerned voice.

  “I mean, your precious cat, dear.” he amended, with a false smile.

  “Will you help me look for him?” asked the little girl with a sweet smile.

  “But of course, precious! What is your cat’s name?” he said, rubbing his claws together on the face of that great opportunity.

  “His name is Linx and his fur is brown.” Udrie said.

  Motivated by different reasons, the gargoyle and little Udrie went about the task of looking for the cat each taking a different direction.

  Little Udrie walked deep into the forest shouting the name of her dear cat and looking at the tops of the trees since the cat routinely climbed to the top branches. Suddenly she tripped over a rock and fell to her knees. When she got up and turned around, she bumped Califax’s imposing figure. He remained as still and quiet as a statue with his back to the small girl, and not daring to look, strained his ears to listen to her movements.

  Curious, as it was to be expected, the little girl took the dragon by the tail and walked around to greet him face to face. She questioned him about what she perceived as strange appearance. Califax explained in a soft and gentle voice that he was a dragon from a distant land a
nd that he was wounded.

  “Poor Califax! You must be very hungry, is it not thus?” asked the little girl with sincere hospitality.

  “Yes, my dear, but my friend went out to look for something to eat.”

  “Is your friend a gargoyle?” she asked, balancing herself on her heels with one finger in her mouth.

  “Yes. Perhaps you have seen him, dear?” he asked.

  “He is helping me look for my cat that has lost his way.” she explained naively.

  “It would be better if we find Hayex before he finds your cat.” he suggested, knowing what the gargoyle’s true intentions were.

  Califax joined Udrie in the search for Linx, and after a few minutes of poking around the forest, they found the pussycat trapped on a high tree branch, being harassed by Hayex. With his hair standing straight up on his back and baring his teeth, the scared little cat spat and swatted at his relentless attacker, who had very easily reached the feline’s ineffective refuge.

  “Linx!” exclaimed the little girl when she saw her darling cat.

  Hayex froze with his hand poised about the cat’s neck, but from the moment he saw Califax and the little girl come into view, he also knew that he had just lost his snack. Reluctantly, he came down from the tree, clutching the frightened cat; having no choice under the watchful eyes of the dragon but to flash a sheepish smile and to gently hand the cat over to the little girl.

  “Oh! Thank you, Hayex!” said little Udrie, while she gave him a smacking kiss on his gargoyle cheek that made him blush.

  “It was nothing, dear child.” said the ashamed gargoyle.

  As a grateful gesture, the little girl invited the hungry travelers to her house, where she offered to feed them. Knowing that the adults were not used to such strange guests, they had to turn down the offer.

  Far from being discouraged by their refusal, little Udrie offered to personally bring the food to them; that offer was hastily accepted.

  “Not all humans are bad.” said Califax, while watching the girl walk away with a bounce in her step.

  After a while, the little one returned loaded with delicious roasted chicken and some large loaves of bread, all of which they devoured quickly.

  “You were right, my friends!” she laughed. “I told my mama about you, but she says that dragons and gargoyles do not exist.”

  “It doesn’t matter, dear. I did not believe that dragons existed either until I met Califax.” Hayex winked.

  Over the next four days, Udrie continued to bring food to the unique friends. By that time Califax’s wing had already healed, which meant that they would soon be on their way to resume their quest. The constant disappearance of food raised suspicions in little Udrie’s home. Her mother was afraid that the little girl was feeding some wild animal without knowing that the animal could put her life in danger. Armed with her stout husband, one afternoon, she followed the little girl deep into the forest where Califax and Hayex were hiding. When they saw that their little girl was sharing food and conversing with those frightful beings, the woman threw a no less terrifying scream than the appearance of the dragon and the gargoyle. When the man saw that strange scene, he threatened them with a long lance in order to frighten them and move them away from his defenseless daughter.

  “You see, Mama.” she pointed. “Dragons and gargoyles do exist.” the little one naively informed them.

  Califax and Hayex remained frozen for a moment then, turning, instinctively they grabbed their valuable treasure and took to the air, verifying that the dragon’s wing had healed.

  Once in the air, the expeditionary adventurers took one last look at that family of humans below. Little Udrie was waving her little hand from the tight embrace of her sobbing mother, to send a last goodbye to her exceptional friends. Meanwhile, the man danced about shaking his fist and shouting curses at the ‘infernal invaders’ of his home.

  They flew towards the north where they saw the gigantic horse of Uffington that was painted on the ground of that great landscape[70] where they took a rest. Later, they flew once again to the forest where dwelled Dee the Magician.

  They had hoped that the wise old wizard could give them some clues on how to find the mysterious man to whom they must deliver the Chalice.

  After his customary theatrical appearance, the magician made his inquiry in a deep voice:

  “What do you want to know?”

  “Where can I find the man to whom I must give the Chalice?” asked Califax.

  “The guardian of Ra, the sun of the east, indicates the secret way to the Rock of Ebony.” he intoned.

  After those brief words, the magician disappeared. The adventurers were perplexed. The words of the magician resounded in their minds as if he had spoken to them in some totally unknown dialect.

  “Now what do we do?” asked the gargoyle.

  “We do not know any guardian of Ra, but it seems that we will be traveling to the east again, Hayex.”

  They flew on a course to the beaches of Calais and crossed the Paris river basin, taking special care while entering the treacherous summits of the Alps. During this trip, the brave travelers only stopped to eat and sleep in the same places where they had done it before. They would avoid the Oracle of Delphi by Califax’s request.

  During the journey, they decided to pay a visit to Solomon the teacher in Jerusalem. To do so, they would have to disguise themselves again as camel and driver.

  Once in the land of Palestine, they flew over the river basin of the Jordan River until arriving at the Sea of Galilee. They followed its channel and stopped shortly before reaching the Dead Sea. They turned towards the west on to Jericho, until reaching the outskirts of the three times declared holy city of Jerusalem.

  The night surrounded the Biblical metropolis with its peaceful calm and the exhausted comrades allowed their tired eyelids to rest until the dawn of a new day.

  The crow of a distance rooster announced the new dawn, and the dragon and the gargoyle assumed their corresponding roles before visiting Solomon. The fight they both had with their disguises, took the most part of the morning but, before the sun reached its zenith, they were ready for work.

  Walking on the stone streets of Jerusalem, they ran into an Arab merchant who offered to buy Hayex’s camel. Surprised by that offer, the gargoyle had enough impudence to ask how many denarii’s[71] he would offer for that ‘ruminant’ which making a great effort to conceal his true identity, shoved his bold ‘driver.’

  “I think he is not for sale, sir.” said Hayex upon feeling the shove from Califax. “It is a very special breed.”

  Only a short time had passed when the dragon upbraided for that insult. Hayex only laughed harder. He explained that even if a magnificent offer were proposed, he would not be capable of selling a friend.

  Shortly after noon, they reached the house of Solomon, who with his customary hospitality received the gargoyle with an effusive greeting and a refreshing cup of wine, while Califax waited outside the house in the extreme heat of that region.

  “I see that your initiation rite has not yet finished.” observed an amused Solomon upon since Hayex was still completely covered by the too warm robe.

  “This is true, teacher. I still have a long way to go before I become a bard.”

  “In arts and sciences, patience and perseverance are indispensable ingredients required for success.” he advised. “However, tell me, what has brought you back to my humble dwelling? Have you found Jesus’ Chalice?” he asked.

  “We are working on that, but what has brought me back is a riddle that I have not been able to solve.”

  “Very interesting, my young friend! But tell me, Hayex, what is the question that captivates your thoughts?” he asked with interest.

  “Who is the guardian of Ra, the Sun of the East?”

  Rubbing his beard, Solomon went to his inseparable papyri, from which he extracted all his great wisdom. He unrolled one of them and began to explain.

  “Many centuries ago, Ramse
s II, the heartless Pharaoh of Egypt, enslaved my country. It was our father Moses who released us from his cruel yoke and guided us, over a span of forty years through the desert until we reached these lands: The Promised Land of Yahweh, Blessed be His name!” he exclaimed. “Also, the construction of the pyramids would not have been possible without the unjust enslavement of the countries.” he stated sadly.

  “The pyramids?” he inquired, fascinated.

  “The great pyramids of Egypt in the region of Gizeh,” he clarified. “They were constructed for the Pharaohs of Cheops,[72] Chephren, and Mykerinus: each was entombed there with great honor, as if they were true gods.”

  “How very interesting, teacher. But, who is the guardian of Ra?” asked the Gargoyle.

  “Be patient, my young friend.” he said, attempting to calm the gargoyle with a gesture of his hand. “The pyramids were constructed in such a way that their vertex aims towards Ra, god of the Sun, with whom the Pharaohs join in the next world.” he said as he selected another roll from the shelf. “The Guardian of Ra is the Sphinx, the Great Lion that supposedly protects and watches over the tombs of the Pharaohs. In this papyrus,” indicated Solomon while unrolling it, “you can see its location and an image of the Sphinx as well as the pyramids.”

  “That is impressive, teacher. But why did the Egyptians build it?”

  “In a stone found close to the pyramid of Chephren, you can read an inscription that says: I protect the temple of your tomb and funeral chamber. I drive away the invaders and I knock down, before you, the will and the weapons of your enemies.”[73]

  “Does this mean that the Sphinx is the guardian of the Pharaohs?” he asked with surprise.

  “It seems that way. Some explorers, Romans and Greeks, say that a secret passage exists within the Sphinx that leads to a chamber containing several prophecies inscribed on the walls.”

  “What do the prophecies say, teacher?” asked the gargoyle.

  “Nobody knows. Everyone who has tried to profane the chamber by entering has not returned to tell the story, my friend.”