'It's very simple, Cadwaladr ... you just take my hand.' She beckoned with her fingers for him to comply.

'But why? To what end?'

Tory rolled her eyes, not really surprised that he still considered her to be a threat. 'I'm just going to show you a safe place to store this. You have nothing to fear.'

The smile on his face broadened, as he transformed into the warrior he truly was. 'Down through the ages I have feared no one. I'm not about to start now,' he assured her, slapping his hand into hers and gripping it tight.

Cadwaladr found himself in a huge cathedral-like room, filled to the rafters with exquisite art, artefacts and furnishings, all of which he could well appreciate being a collector himself. The main feature of the chamber was a huge stone that was inset into the centre of the floor, upon which was carved a Celtic cross.

'This was Taliesin's Otherworldly abode.' Tory found her companion's thunderstruck expression most amusing. 'He has no use of it any longer, but I thought it might suit your purposes well.'

Cadwaladr gulped back the emotion that welled in him - having finally been made privy to the secret place where all his forefather's had been instructed in the greater mysteries. 'I heard the legends about this place when I was a boy in Gwynedd ... but I never imagined that I would ever see it.'

'Taliesin would want you and your descendants to continue to make use of the facilities here. Beyond those doors,' she referred to the double doors at one of the chamber, 'is a whole world of discovery ... all the knowledge that was wrongfully denied you.'

Cadwaladr looked from the doors back to Tory.

Such an act of trust confounded all reason. 'After everything I've said and done, you would entrust me with such a place?'

Tory smiled and gave a nod. 'It is the will of the Great Houses, Cadwaladr, that I welcome you home.'

With this, Tory approached the huge, dark warrior and embraced him.

Cadwaladr held back a moment. He was so used to her as the enemy, he was startled by the fact that she obviously bore him no malice. 'Tory Alexander, your compassion is a wonder to me.' He let go of his hatred and hugged her back.

'If there's one thing I hate, it's hate. There's no one happier than I that we got to the bottom of all the deception and misunderstanding.' Tory pulled away from Cadwaladr to find him blinking the tears from his eyes.

'I thought I had forgotten how to cry.' He wiped the water from his face, forcing a smile.

'And love, and trust,' Tory added. 'But now you remember, and shall never again forget.'

He nodded in agreement, looking around his new home base. 'On that you have my word.'

'That's all the assurance I need.' Tory placed a hand on his shoulder, and stared up into his dark eyes. 'The Goddess is with you, Cadwaladr. Always was, always will be.'

The statement stirred something deep inside the warrior and he sank to his knees before Tory. 'I am her humble servant.'

'The divine is within you, Cadwaladr.' She crouched down, to avoid his adoration. 'Serve it and the Goddess will be appeased.'

'I am proud of my family,' he advised with absolute conviction, 'and they will be proud of me.'

'You do us proud already, Cadwaladr.'

Tory placed the palm of her hand over his cheek and he leant into her touch, closing his eyes to be relieved by the calming energy it extended him. The guilt and hatred that had possessed his soul for so long seemed to flow from his body with his tears.

But Tory felt more than this. The loneliness the man had endured in twelve hundred years of life and the accumulated bitterness of his abandonment were so all-encompassing that the mother in her was compelled to comfort the child in him. 'Your isolation is at an end.' She hugged him to her. 'You shall never be forced to stand alone again, I swear it.'

'Forgive me.' He'd curled up in a foetal position in Tory's lap and he openly wept.

'All is forgotten ... you have only to forgive yourself.' She stroked his hair, and cradled him as he let his pain go.

Cadwaladr was going to be alright.

Back in the Middle East most of the Chosen had already boarded Nergal's huge vessel, but Maelgwn was still on the runway, pacing to and fro. 'What is taking her so long?' His eyes scanned the vast wasteland around him.

'Are you waiting for someone?'

Maelgwn swung round, relieved. 'I was worried.

Does all go well with Cadwaladr?'

'All does.' Tory smiled, then, looking around the landing strip, her good spirits dampened. 'He has a huge task ahead of him, I fear. But his hunger for the battle is fueled as always, so he ought to do well, Whether he can induce mankind to come to the party remains to be seen. If Gaia is to heal, it will require the awareness and care of every living soul, not just the crusaders.'

Maelgwn raised his brow, not overly concerned.

'Well, if history proves one thing, it's that Homo sapiens always shine in crisis situations.'

'Well, they'd better,' considered Tory, 'before Gaia is so fed up that she completely rids herself of the torment.'

'It won't come to that ... we shall aid them from Kila.' Maelgwn tried to perk up her spirits.

He knew Tory would miss Gaia for awhile, just as he had, but the universe was an amazing place and there were ever-expanding parts of it to discover and explore.

If he could just get Tory on their transport and out of here, he felt sure she would love life outside of this star system.

'Stop worrying,' he encouraged. 'Where's your sense of adventure?' But Tory continued turning in circles, observing the landscape with a rather solemn look on her face.

'My father has never been very sentimental,' she said, suppressing her disappointment down deep to prevent any tears, 'but I really thought that Taliesin would show up to say well done, good-bye ... or something.'

'Why would he think to say goodbye, when he hasn't left.' Maelgwn placed a hand on her shoulder to get her full attention. 'Stop looking outward, Tory. The Merlin is inside now.'

She sniffled. 'It was he who urged me to confront Nergal this morning.'

'And that is just the first of many such urges, I am sure.' He squeezed her shoulders and turned her around.

'Like, right now, I feel certain he is urging us to board this craft.'

Tory submitted with a smile, but then turned back abruptly to wave farewell to the planet of her birth. 'So long Gaia. Ours has been a grand adventure. May the Goddess protect and guide you, for all time.' She bowed, as she would have to her Sensei.

Well done, good-bye ... or something.

Tory straightened up at the sound of Taliesin's voice, and could not stop her tears flowing when he was nowhere to be seen.

Gaia has been a truly grand adventure. But a whole new adventure awaits us on Kila. You are beholden to none, Tory Alexander, and a master of your own reality. You must make something of this new-found freedom. So let us go, before you get left behind.

Tory breathed a deep sigh of relief, and with a deciding nod, she took up her husband's hand and made a dash for the transporter beam.

On the first night of their voyage to Kila, the Dragon's kin were to be entertained with a preview of Noah's long-awaited novel.

They gathered in the Goddess' rec room for the event, and proved a rowdy bunch to settle down by the time the storyteller finally got up his nerve.

'Before I begin, I wish to dedicate this work to Tory Alexander, my inspiration and saviour.' Noah spurred a round of applause and whistles from the crowd.

'You saved yourself,' Tory corrected. 'All I did was give you a job.'

'You did a lot more than that,' he insisted, but moved on. 'I would also like to dedicate this story to you, the characters, without whom this whole tale would obviously not have been possible.'

His audience outdid themselves with recognition on that score, but fell silent as the lights dimmed.

All that could be seen was Noah's face, illuminated by the light projecting off his computer screen and a candle that sat beside it on the bench. His first words were not read, however. Instead, Noah addressed his audience directly.

'The tale of the origins of the Chosen is as complex and baffling as time itself. For they were the legends and heroes of myth made manifest, and were, among men, righteous kings and philosophers, seers, healers, astronomers, and orators wise. The beginning of the Dragon's line of these immortal warriors can be traced back to one afternoon in Oxfordshire, England. The day of the summer solstice in nineteen ninety three ...'

He looked to his computer and began to read. 'As evening cast its shadow across the horizon ...'

BIBLIOGRAPHY.

Ash, David A., The Vortex, Golden Path Spiritual Developement Association, Devon, 1991.

Ballard, Robert D., Explorations, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, 1995 Berlitz, Charles, Doomsday 1999 AD, Souvenir Press, London, 1981.

Bletzer, June G., Encyclopedic Psychic Dictionary, Donning Co, Virginia, 1986 Davies, Paul, About Time, Simon & Schuster, USA, 1995 Devereux, Paul, Secrets of Ancient and Sacred Places, Blandford Press, London, 1992 Devereux, Paul, Earth Lights Revelation, Blandford Press, London, 1989 Frederic, Louis, Dictionary of the Martial Arts, Athlone Press, France, 1991 Hope, Murry, Ancient Egypt - The Sirius Connection, Element Books, Shaftesbury, 1994 Hope, Murry, Time - The Ultimate Energy, Element Books, Shaftesbury, 1991 Kerrod, Robin, The Star Guide, RD Press, Australia, 1993 Lorie, Peter, Revelation, Labyrinth Publishing, UK 1995.

Mallove/Matloff, The Starflight Handbook, John Wiley & Sons Inc., USA, 1989 Moore, Patrick, Guinness Book of Astronomy, Guinness Publishing, U.K., 1995 Plato [Desmond Lee (trans)], Timaeus and Critias, Penguin Books, London, 1977 Sitchin, Zecharia, Stairway to Heaven, Avon Books, N.Y., 1983 Sitchin, Zecharia, The 12th Planet, Avon Books, N.Y., 1976.

Sitchin, Zecharia, The Wars of Gods and Men, Avon Books, N.Y,. 1985.

Acknowledgements.

Firstly, I would like to thank all those readers who have patiently waited a whole year for this final instalment of 'The Ancient Future' trilogy - your letters and emails have been a great inspiration, bless you all.

A special hunk of gratitude to my husband, David, to whom I dedicate this book. Quite apart from his artwork, fast becoming famous, I wish to acknowledge his creative contribution to this story - I would have had great difficulty plotting industrial espionage without him.

Many thanks to my parents, all my friends, my agent, Selwa Anthony, and my editors, Sue and Stephanie. Their support and guidance has been essential to the completion of this work.

Last, but by no means least, I would like to thank all those at HarperCollins who have worked so hard to make this trilogy a success. A better publishing house I could not want - what a team!

About the Author.

Traci Harding lives on a quiet acre of bushland on the Hawkesbury River, with her exceedingly talented husband, David, and their beautiful daughter, Sarah.

Book One of the Trilogy, The Ancient Future: the Dark Age was published in 1996; Book Two, An Echo In Time: Atlantis was published in 1997; and Book Three, Masters of Reality: the Gathering in 1998. A stand-alone book, The Alchemist's Key, was released in 1999. Her next trilogy was The Celestial Triad: Chronicle of Ages, Tablet of Destinies and The Cosmic Logos.

In 2002 HarperCollins Australia created a new Traci Harding website and Traci visits the message board in the community section daily, to discuss the greater mysteries with her readers. At the website there are glossaries of the terms used in Traci's books and author notes for those interested in delving deeper into different esoteric and historic aspects of this author's work. You'll find Traci's new website and message board at: www.voyageronline.com.au/traciharding Feel free to write to Traci Harding at the following email address: hardingd@ozemail.com.au.

For information about Traci Harding and her books, plus all the latest science fiction news, visit: Voyager Online: www.voyageronline.com.au the website for lovers of science fiction and fantasy.

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