Rav smiled at Morgana and continued, “After digesting the Elf records and Magical codexes, I released the bloodhound, left the secret chamber and walked down to Caspar’s office and knocked on the door announcing myself.”
A tired voice said, “Come in Rav, I have much to tell you. The door is open.”
I opened the door to find a rather disheveled Caspar–and generally, Caspar was never disheveled. “Sorry for my delay, Caspar. I had to find the real storage room for the Elfin Codexes in secret. I found it and absorbed most of Elf history and the Deep Magick. I’m rather tired myself. Very complex, the Elves.” As there was no where to sit, I remained standing. Every square centimeter of Caspar’s office was covered with documents except for a pathway from his desk chair to the door.
Caspar cleared a chair and returned to his seat. “I have all the ingredients necessary for the ritual. When you did not return, I asked the Princess to shut down all communication into and out of the City. We were afraid that you had been abducted. But, glad you are back.”
“I dared not let anyone know I had returned to Nouseum before I could find and read the Elf codexes. They must remain well hidden.”
“I understand,” said Caspar.
“I am glad you found everything you needed for the Returning Ritual. It is only a clever decoy planned by the Elves ages ago. It will not work. However, we need to perform such so to maintain the true secret. I have the ritual we need,” I replied.
“What do you need to perform the real ritual?”
“Nothing physical actually. I just use my conjuring skills and my wife, Morgana.”
“The only other people who need to know the truth are you, the Prince, and the Princess. We will set up the paraphernalia for the Returning Ritual in a vacant room of the Museum. The Prince and Princess will perform the Ritual with your assistance as Temple Guardian. No one will be allowed into the Ritual. But, we shall not hide the fact that such Ritual is going to be performed. Not too much advertisement, but just a little. If the Evil believes that the Prince and Princess conducted a worthless Ritual, they will relax their guard and give Prince Mikhail more time to grow up after being reborn as a child.”
Caspar looked surprised, “He will be born as a child. Why?”
I replied, “Caspar, the only way anyone can return from the Oblivion is to be reincarnated into a physical world as a new born. They start out fresh and must recover their previous life so to be fully restored. Simeon and Lilith must have been born to a woman living in one of the more decadent outer-worlds which served the Evil during the Great War. Clearly, a renegade Elf must still be alive somewhere–no human could have done the ritual and succeeded. I searched the psychic worlds and found the culprit–his name is Sulahoon the Treacherous.
As Elves are always born as boy and girl twins, the Magician was forced to bring both of them from the Oblivion if he or she was going to succeed. So the twins have been out of the Oblivion for longer than we think. They have at least a twenty year advantage over Prince Mikhail.”
“But, Rav. Mikhail’s twin sister is not in the Oblivion. She lives with us. She is our beautiful and most loving Butterfly Princess. How can Mikhail be retrieved if his sister is still here?”
“At fist I was afraid that we were looking at an unsolvable problem. But, I found a way to bypass the exact requirement of a female twin. What I can do is to ask his twin sister for a small portion of her essence–her grace and infuse it with an egg released by Morgana when she ovulates. As the egg will now be part Elf, I can fertilize such as I am part Elf. Morgana will bear an elf child who will be a sibling to both the Butterfly Princess and Mikhail. Clever, eh?
Prince Mikhail, himself, will be born of an innocent maiden in an outer-world which was allied with the Elves and remembers the Old Ways. He is powerful enough to active her egg with his essence. He will find the perfect genetic host.
We shall finish the Ritual in a day or so. Announce that it was done in the Palace. Then, I shall leave and make love with Morgana so to impregnate her. No one will know except those who need to know. What do you think, Caspar?
Casper perked up, “I think it just might work, Rav. Let’s go to the Palace and inform the Prince and Princess.”
The ritual was to scheduled to begin at midnight on the full moon which was two days away. A room in the palace with windows facing West was prepared and all the paraphernalia was placed as required. At the appointed time the Prince and Princess appeared dressed in robes of the Hierophant. Casper was dressed in the robes of the Temple Guardian and I was dressed in the robes of the Psychopompos, the spiritual guide of the living soul.
INCLUDE RITUAL IN FINAL VERSION
“And so my dear friends and beloved wife, this is what happened in Nouseum.”
The story was a little too much for the students and they had a thousand questions. But, Merlin interrupted, “We can ask our questions tomorrow. I think we need to let Morgana and Tristan make their baby.”
Morgana stood up, “Come my husband.” And she took Rav’s hand and off to the connubial bed went the two.” Everyone else was tired and went off to their bedrooms also.