Legends of Meridian I

A/N: These are just two legends which I put together these days. My take on some controversial questions. This scene was originally supposed to take place in the future chapters of my story "The Dark Descendant", but it was distrupting the entire plot-line of the chapter, eating too much 'screen time', and hence I decided to publish it in a separete story. This will be part 1, because there will probably be other legends from this series in the future. If you're as interested in the W.I.T.C.H universe as me, enjoy! :)

Summary: Post-series. Who was the first Queen of Meridian, and why did initiate an endeavor impossible for any man? Phobos's forefather?! Yan Lin and Julian tell two Meridian legends while waiting for a mysterious event to begin in the restaurant.

Peter Cook and his pregnant girlfriend exchanged glances. His sister was like hypnotized by her latest guardian task. She was looking at the old papers in front of herself, like a sunflower looks at the sun. It had been like that ever since they had met up in the extension restaurant of the Silver Dragon in 'White Mountain', one of Heatherfield's urban districts. A few years back, when the Chinese restaurant had first started to progress as strongly, the Lins had expanded it into another branch. In comparison to the original restaurant, which Yan Lin had founded with her late husband, the branch in 'White Mountain' was quite spacious and modern.

Cassidy smiled at Peter and shook her head. Even though she was not invested in this current case, due to her advanced pregnancy at most, she remembered what it was like to be a guardian working hard to solve a mystic problem. It was a thrill which no one else could understand. No one but a guardian.

"Maybe this prophecy is somewhat similar to the legend of the first male Meridian ruler."- Julian, who had just finished feeding his 5-month year-old grandson, interjected. He was in the restaurant, sitting at the bar area with the others, as they all waited for the event which was about to take place in the White Mountain branch of the Silver Dragon, after one or two hours. He had observed Taranee and her despair, and was willing to offer his opinion on the topic:

"I assume most of you are familiar with how that legend goes...But nevertheless, here, I'll briefly retell it. For Peter...My Homeland, Meridian, is a world which can on only be ruled by a female. Ever since Meridian came to exist in the way which we now know of it."

Peter nodded, listening to the older man with his cordial smile. After months of being in the know, he was still getting adjusted the to the whole idea of a spanless, magic cosmos, but he was willing to be a part of it all. He was a believer.

"Escanor was the first human hero that managed to take control over the wild lands and bring them under the rule of one hand; before that there were only mostly tribes there. But it was his wife, Lerin*, who eventually had to sit on the throne. Their people, respectively my race, which were later named 'Escanors', after their leader, were many, and would soon lead Meridian to new heights, but unfortunately, Lerin's husband was fastly overtaken by cruelty and greed. Although indeed a conqueror, it is believed he resorted to unnecessary extremes. He harassed the native races during his conquests and imposed all his desires by force. When an entire village of galhots was burned down, in an outburst of his dissatisfaction with their obedience, the elements became angry. Legend has it that, Nantosuelta**, the ancient Metamorian goddess of Earth, came in Lerin's dream one night and told her that she has to sacrifice all memories of her life before coming to Metamoor and become Meridian's queen, for her husband's radical deeds made him undeserving in the eyes of the elements and the Gods. If she was to refuse, the entire Escanor kind would be cursed forevermore, making their reign over any land impossible and full of misery and pain. And thus, Lerin accepted the conditions. She drank a special potion which made mind a blank space. In order to make her cruel husband submissive to her will, she was given extraordinary magic powers by the Gods, which later became birth right to every future Queen. Ever since Lerin, no man has ever been allowed on the Meridian throne and thus our realm has blossomed and matured throughout the centuries...No man except Phobos and one other, whose name will always be written with blood in Meridian's history- "

"King Deimos the First was a man who symbolized terror. Phobos is a ray of sunshine in comparison to him."- Julian smiled as Yan Lin started telling the second legend instead of him. Having come out of the kitchen area, she had overheard them and couldn't contain herself. The man nodded and agreed for her to carry on. After all, he knew how much the old lady adored telling stories.

"Deimos's mother, Queen Adrestia, was a strain of Escanor which pretty much resembles our Italian people, here on Earth. The Escanors originate from a parallel Universe which is similar to our planet by many things, that's why they look like us Earthlings, as you can see."- the ex-guardian went on, patting Julian's head as her example.

Taranee scoffed. She had already heard these legends; this storytelling was hindering her from studying what she didn't know. But then again, she didn't interrupt. She could see that her brother, Martin and Eric, who had arrived just a few minutes ago, were very invested in listening to them.

"Anyhow, Adrestia loved her son dearly. She didn't believe in the old legend about Escanor and made the prince her only descendant. That enraged the people of Meridian and the neighbor planets in the Metamoor. Even the rulers of the various Meridian districts. standing lower in post compared to the queen, tried to dissuade her, but she did not listen. They felt insulted, so, they set up a trap for her Majesty and one day lured her into an old square, which had previously been enclosed with special magic insulating talismans. The angry nobles publicly lynched the queen and headed for the palace to stop what they saw as her mistake, but what they didn't know was that her son had already been crowned. Deimos's wraith poured out on the people, and he vowed revenge on Meridian for the way the nobles treated their own queen. He not only killed all the counts, marquises and lords to the ninth generation, but also destroyed the provinces they ruled over. To maintain his magical power, he buried his dead mother's body beneath the palace and created an enchanted spring on top of it. A fountain that Phobos himself used. After that, he gave Meridianites the dark promise to fulfill what they had originally expected of him. And that he did. He destroyed the ancient temples and burned hundreds of sages and gurus in the pile. His deceased subjects, he bewitched with black magic, turning them into a fearsome dark army that knew no mercy. With the help of that army, Deimos remained on the throne for fifty-five long years-"

"- he was entering his seventies, when the Mage of Meridian, who he had long ago banished to the remains of the Ancient Metamorian Empire, far away from Meridian, managed to break through his defenses."- Julian took the word again. "During that time, the Fortress of Infinity had tasked her with an important mission. With the Heart of Kandrkar, a talisman with unseen magical power, the Mage was to create a team. A team of powerful individuals that were Meridian's only hope."

"The first guardians."- Cassidy whistled under her nose and smiled at Yan Lin. "God, I had almost forgotten this legend!"

"The first guardians!"- Eric repeated in awe. "Were they from Earth too? I mean, like Hay Lin and you guys-"

"Yeah, that seems like an interesting question."- Martin agreed. "Why Earth? I know Heatherfield is a nodal point and source of magic here, but still. Is there a particular reason? What time period was Earth in, during that time, by the way?"

"No, the first guardians were not all from Earth."- the former Air guardian retorted.

She looked at the little group in front of herself with a smile. Her granddaughter had just joined the little audience with a big smile, leaning onto her boyfriend's shoulder. How she loved to see these young people become a part of their world...

"The first guardians of the Heart of Kandrakar united for the first time, exactly 823 years ago. So do the math. We were in the 13th century here on Earth.

"The Mage gathered the first guardians from different realms. One or two of them happened to be from Earth."- Julian continued. "At the time, Kandrakar relied on the Mage to train and prepare them for a grand war; it took her three years, but it paid off. When the first guardians came to Meridian, they started gathering forces. They used their powers over the five elements to bring Deimos's evil soldiers down and free the people of his slavery in just a year. But the biggest adversity was yet to come."

"Over the years of his tyrannical reign, Deimos had annihilated so many of the Escanors, that there were practically no nobles left."- Yan Lin took the lead once more. This legend-telling was all about her and the veteran rebel taking turns, as it seemed. "How was the Escanor royal line to be continued if not from his seed? The last royal figure in the entire kingdom... That was the reason for the devious, but worthy plan of the guardians. Their leader, Malyna, a brave girl from Earth, who was just 18, took a very drastic, brave and terrifying, I can agree, step. She and her teammates took advantage of Deimos's advancing age and weakened power. With every next colony of his that fell, he grew weaker and weaker, and one day, the guardians and the Mage managed to evoke a spell and gain control over his mind."

"Malyna seduced the old tyrant and bedded him, conceiving his child during their first wedding night."

The three young men made disgusted faces and voiced their exclamations of disapprobation. Even Cassidy, Hay Lin and Taranee, who had already known the legend, couldn't hide their distaste at that part. Just the thought of it was...revolting.

"I agree, it does sound terrible."- Yan Lin nodded. "But this way, Malyna became Queen and saved the Meridain royal line from extinction. After her baby daughter was born, she and her friends killed the tyrant and threw his body in the Abyss of Shadows."

"Some say that his bones are still somewhere, deep bellow the ground..."- Cassidy added dramatically, making her old friend chuckle. Cassidy was a sunshine and would forever remain as innocent and bubbly.

"Still and all, why Malyna? Couldn't have someone else conceived that old guy's child?"- Eric shook his head. "That's unfair to her..."

"Trust that Malyna knew what she was sacrificing and what she was doing at the time."- Yan Lin assured him. "She was a poor girl from Earth, she lived in disfavor, in Europe, where her country was also facing hardships. She saw a chance for herself by becoming Meridian's queen and birthing the next, legitimate Queen."

"It's like that in life."- Julian agreed. "One must often sacrifice a lot in order to gain even a little. In the case of the first Quintessence guardian, she ended up with more than she had bargained for."

"Wow, grandma. These tales get me each time. Enlightening the guys on old Meridian history?"- Hay Lin beamed. "I didn't get to hear, what's the occasion?"

Yan Lin blinked at that:

"I don't know what's the occasion, I came out of the kitchen and heard Julian retelling the legend of Lerin-"

"Yes, I was suggesting that this legend could help Taranee in her ponderings."- the man agreed.

Taranee suddenly felt like someone has pinched her. A part of these legends really did give her an idea, even though she hadn't believed that it was possible. She had already known them. And still...

"Excuse me, I'll be back."- she stood up and gathered her things. "I have to check something!"

"Sis, where are you- "- Peter gave up on asking her- she had already sped away. He shook his head, wrapping his arm around Cassidy. Taranee was crazy lately.

"Wait, wait all of you!"- Yan Lin appealed.

Martin, Eric and Hay Lin had appeared distracted for a moment, having thought that story time is over.

"Let me finish what's most striking about Deimos!"- she smiled mysteriously and then became serious. "From the descriptions and the Mage's words, who I had the honor to know, many years ago, our familiar Prince Phobos is like a reincarnation of Deimos. Phobos looks just like the ancient tyrant, from the very first years of his life!"

"Indeed."- Julian agreed. "That is why we were all so shocked and afraid over 20 years ago, taking matters seriously from the very beginning. We knew that if Deimos's spirit has somehow found a way to live a second life in the body of that then-boy, as silly as it sounds, Meridian will be in grand trouble yet again. After so many years...Fear of something like that happening again, still held us. And to a certain extent it did happen, didn't it?"

"Phobos's evil did not reach the scale of King Deimos, mainly because timely measures were taken: the rebellion and the successful resistance, Kandrakar's decision to raise the divider and the successful rescue of Queen Elyon as a baby. If any of these steps had failed, who knows?"- Yan Lin made one last dramatic pause. "Perhaps today Meridian wouldn't have been as we know it."

Trivia:

Lerin- Lerin was actually the name of the first Meridian Queen according to the Caleb/Cornelia comic special. Parts of the legend about her I retold here, other details I added from myself.
Deimos- "terror" from greek; in Greek mythology, he's Phobos (fear)'s twin. I thought that to be a smart and fun name for the first Meridian King. :D

Nantosuelta- ancient goddess of Earth from Celtic mythology
White Mountain- the neighborhood the Lines moved to in the comics.

Thank you for reading this! What did you think? Do drop me a line. Check out my other w.i.t.c.h stories as well, if you find them interesting. See u soon, guys. 💘