“What is this?” Ethan asked.
“This? Oh, we call it the tree of Avalon,” Abraham said as his eyes suddenly gave a thousand-yard stare.
“Avalon… like as in the King Arthur stories?” Ethan asked.
“Well, they're not just stories. King Arthur was quite real here, and he was one of our fiercest leaders. Is his legend the same as where you are from?” Abraham asked pridefully.
“They were legends, and they were rather well embellished where I'm from,” Ethan said, his eyes running over the tree.
“No, I'm serious he was quite real. He was only a few generations back and his relatives still reign over certain areas here,” Abraham responded sternly.
“So you're telling me King Arthur, Merlin, and the round table are all real things?” Ethan asked in bewilderment.
“What do you mean by a round table? Also, Merlin was definitely just a story… come on man,” Abraham responded, his tone giving Ethan an instant dose of embarrassment.
“King Arthur; He had the round table where all the knights would sit so they would all be equal and could look each other in the eyes,” Ethan said excitedly.
“That sounds ridiculous. First off, one of them was King, the other ones were his knights. Also, do you realize how much space a round table would have to take up to be able to fit a bunch of knights around it? You could just have a normal long dining room table and be looking into each other's eyes still.” Abraham said as he started to walk toward the tree.
Ethan was quiet for a moment. He had never really put that much thought into those stories, but I guess in some way he realized it did make a little more sense in the way Abraham broke it down.
“What, are we here for me to get Excalibur or something?” Ethan said, almost as if it were a wish.
“I don't know what that is. It sounds like something you would name a pet.” Abraham responded. “Now, you need to walk to the bottom of the tree and place your ring over the roots.”
“Yeah, okay, because that doesn’t sound ridiculous,” Ethan replied snarkily.
Abraham said nothing, he only looked toward the tree. Ethan felt a cold chill as the moment grew quiet. Finally, he started walking closer and closer to the tree. As he did, he could feel himself radiating on the inside, like a bright warmth was beginning to consume him.
The tree was massive. It was exponentially bigger than any tree he'd ever seen. The trunk was wide enough that it could have been considered a good shell for a spacious home. Even still, it was beautiful to look at; with dark brown and red flakey bark, and bright green leaves rustling loudly in the wind above him.
As he approached the base of the tree he could almost feel himself being pulled toward its root system, which was sprawled out in all directions. Many of the roots were covered in moss with some springing forth mushrooms in a brilliant array of colors; blues, purples, reds, and whites. Instinctively, Ethan knelt down and, for a moment, he thought he heard a whisper something gradually telling him “it's okay”.
Those words pulled at something within him. It was not something that he was used to hearing. Most of the time it never was. No, most of the time things were not okay. Most of the time things were a struggle. Most of the time he didn't know if he was flailing at life and if everyone else was just like him, or if he was just alone on an island of self-pity.
Ethan’s eyes leveled at a spot in the roots that was very unlike the others. It was clean, almost glossy like it had been waxed. He placed his hand on it and he felt an electric jolt shoot through the ring, up his arm, and around his body. Instinctively he closed his eyes, imagining that this must indeed be the end.
“Abraham where are you?” he screamed.
There was nothing but silence. He opened his eyes, the right first, and then his left. He could barely see, and had no idea where the faint light source could have been coming from. It's as if he was in a really large dark room. Something was on the other end of this abyss, and it beckoned him. He walked to it, and could again hear that whisper say “it's okay”.
The closer he approached, the clearer it became. Up from the floor stood a root that looked like a human arm. At the top of that rooty arm, there appeared to be a hand. In the grasp of this root was a beautiful sword, unlike anything he had ever seen in pictures or in person. It was shining brightly, exposing that the light in this place came from it, and nowhere else. Trickles of electricity cascaded down its steely center.
He would have made a joke at how this was absolutely Excalibur, but he could feel the weight of the moment and pushed every other thought aside. It took him another moment to realize that his hand was instinctively reaching out.
A crackle of electricity connected from the sword to his hand, and then to his ring.
A whisper rose once again and said “It's okay. The traverser is worthy.”
The rooted hands opened and pushed the sword into Ethan's. The entire room lit up with a burst of purple-electric energy and all at once many of the questions that Ethan came here asking seemed to be answered.
With a stronger second burst of electricity, the light dimmed. Ethan fell to the floor unconscious.