The Healer Series

When, at last, they succeeded in killing the plague parasites and repairing the damage to the twin boy's bodies, Ton and Kal were drenched in sweat and had to be assisted in standing up. As they collapsed the meld, a great cheer went up from all the Healers and Great Healers, their Cadets stood in awe at what they had witnessed. Never in the long history of their race, had two Human Hybrid Warriors wielded such enormous power. The two Great Healers were being assisted into chairs when the two boys, Bil and Set, awoke from their healing trance. They cried out, "Are you our Poppa?" Ton and Kal realized that the boys, twins, were orphans without parents. They looked at each other and both nodded. Ton said to the boys, "Would you like us to be your Poppas?" The twins both replied that they would, so it happened that Ton and Kal became the parents of two young English boys. Little did they realize at that time what the future would hold.

They gathered all that remained of humankind in England on board the ships of the mercy fleet. It required all that the Healers had in them to restore the folk of Prince Paul to health. Their injuries and condition were appalling to those of the Human Hybrid Warrior Kind, disease, injuries, lack of food and care had taken their toll on the folk of those destroyed islands.

Princess Aiella acknowledged Prince Paul as her liege lord and submitted herself and her people to his rule and Prince Paul demonstrated to his people that he and his mate, Earl Joseph, were in truth, Human Hybrid Warriors.

The boys of his folk were fascinated as the mated pair entered change and when the two shifted to their animal forms, many boys began their own campaigns to be apprenticed as Hybrid Warriors.

The great ships remained at anchor in the Thames River until all of the English Folk had been healed and the plague destroyed. For the first time in their lives, they had a safe place to lay their heads at night, a plentitude of food and clean clothing to wear.

Princess Aiella was becoming worried at what price would be extracted from their people and she went to Prince Paul, "My Lord, Prince Paul, what is the cost to our people, what shall be extracted from them in payment for their salvation?" She asked, fearing the answer.

Prince Paul took her hand and bade her sit beside him, "Princess Aiella, it is our calling to love, protect and care for all of humankind. There is no repayment, there is no cost, only that we be allowed to love all of you as ourselves."

The young Princess crumpled in tears, "yyy yu You mean, our people are free and are to be allowed to live out their lives as free folk?"

The Prince replied, "Yes, they will be free and may live anywhere that is protected by the Human Hybrid Warriors, served by the Warrior Healers and the Great Healers."

He continued, "We are a society of free peoples, none may enslave another, none may harm another, especially our children. You may live anywhere in the three kingdoms, ply any trade and live however you wish. Education for our children is free to all and you may travel throughout our lands without restriction or fear."

She asked, "May our people become as you, Human Hybrid Warriors or Healers?"

Prince Paul replied, "Yes Princess, they may. If they have the needed mental capabilities to survive the rigor of change and request it of us, they may join the Lodge of Warriors, or the Society of Healers. Only those who have the capabilities to wield unimaginable energies may ask communion with the Great Healers."

As the Princess stood to take her leave of Prince Paul, Jambor -Tong, the Major Domo, entered the room bowing and said, My Lord Prince, two boys of your people beg audience with you."

Prince Paul motioned the princess to seat herself and he told the Major Domo to admit the boys. The two boys, Nokla and Oriel entered and bowed deeply, they said together, "My Lord Prince of our people, we ask that we be made as you, we wish to be Warriors of your race."

Prince Paul scanned their minds; he saw their request was born of great determination and desire to help others as they had been helped.

He called for his Mate, Earl Joseph, who came immediately. Joseph said, "My love, let us do this thing, they are but the first."

Before an astonished princess, they led the two boys away to be made Human Hybrid Warriors!

All the remaining folk of England were loaded on board the ships and their healing was well underway. The massive ships recalled all their small craft and carefully upped their anchors in preparation of departure.

They negotiated the debris laden river and entered the North Sea. Their voyage continued out the English Channel and departed the British Isles, now a desolate, broken and uninhabited land, devoid of all humanity.

The fleet maintained a slower pace, there no longer being an urgent need for great speed.

On the 7th day of their Vigil, Paul and Joseph brought forth two new Human Hybrid Warriors, Nokla and Oriel, who promptly pledged fealty to the Lords Prince Teddy and Tong-Fu.

The boys rescued from England looked on the ceremony with great envy, desperately hoping that they, also, might be included in that rare company.

When the girls discovered that the two newly made Warriors had fangs, they were nearly forced to go into hiding!

Bil and Set recovered rapidly, their healed bodies filled out and they were on the cusp of young manhood. Their fathers, Ton and Kal watched over them in loving indulgence as the boys gained confidence and the friendship of their peers.

The two were wrestling with one another in their quarters as their fathers looked on when suddenly the two boys were in a hammerlock, two feet above the deck!

As Ton and Kal watched, the boys discovered they were airborne and they let out a startled screech. There was a tremendous flash of energy and light, the furniture in the room was destroyed, paint on the bulkhead blistered and the thick glass in the porthole was shattered.

It was all Ton and Kal could do to remain standing as the onslaught of the tremendous energy wave hit them. They looked upon their sons in astonishment, they had spontaneously completed change! Their eyes were red and both were fingering fangs protruding from their mouths!

The flash of energy was felt throughout the fleet, Warriors and Healers came running in their direction, mind waves of questions were frantically asking what had happened.

Lymal and L'oki appeared in the shattered doorway and surveyed the scene. Knowing what had happened and believing it were two different things, what their eyes told them was beyond belief! Never, in the entire history of their races, Human Hybrid or Dracule, had such a thing ever occurred.

The two boys were in communion with each other and they faced their fathers, saying, "We are!"

They then dropped to their knees and pledged, "I shall serve all mankind, in sickness and in war. In this, I pledge my body and my immortal soul, so help me God."

The waves of energy were rippling off the two new Great Healers, visible to all.

Ton and Kal recovered from their astonishment and asked, "What are you?"

The boys smiled and replied simply, "Your sons."

They had to remove what few possessions that had remained intact, to another room, as that one was totally destroyed. Word spread throughout the fleet that another pair, Great Healers had arrived!

King George and King Fala flew from the Flag Ship to greet the new Healers.

After they had met them, the two Monarchs met with Ton and Kal, "You have sons of immense power, beyond anything ever known or believed possible. They are treasures of all Humankind!"

The fleet made its way south, along the coast of France and past the Pillars of Hercules. They stopped several times to rescue fisherfolk who had been fleeing the slavers. A decision was made to exterminate the nest of those who would enslave others and the fleet made its way to the mouth of the Congo River.

They dropped their anchors and waves of Human Hybrid Warriors, in angry formations, launched from the ships in search of the slaver base.

Nokla and Oriel asked permission of their Fathers to accompany a flight of Warriors on their mission to seek out and destroy the slavers. Paul and Joseph agreed, only if they accompanied their childes.

As the next wave of Warriors readied for flight, they were joined by the four Warriors. All four were giant Condors as they leaped from the deck of the ship.

Miles inland, where they thought themselves safe, the slavers had created a city and ringed it with walls of logs. Outside the walls were smaller forts that housed their captive slaves.

The Flight of Warriors and Healers discovered the city, their anger had no bounds. As they began their dive to destroy the city, it erupted into flames. Great waves of energy were being emitted by Nokla and Oriel, their teeth bared in hate for the creatures named SLAVERS. The energy waves did not stop until the slaver city was totally destroyed, not a single slaver survived the attack.

The flight resumed their human form as they landed, except for Nokla and Oriel. They assumed the form of giants, clothed in sheets of fire. They tore the walls of the slave pens down in their anger, stooping to smash the gates holding those unfortunate folk captive. Not until the last slave pen was destroyed did they return to their human form.

The frightened natives knelt before their rescuers and called them Gods. The two boys, Nokla and Oriel, said to the freed people, "We are not gods, we are merely folk like yourselves. Come with us, we will lead back to your villages and your families."

The people followed the Warriors, but kept their distance from Oriel and Nokla as they were led back to their villages. Once they arrived in the villages, the Warriors found sickness and the wounded, the deformed and those deprived of proper nutrition.

Nokla mind sent, "Great Healers, come at once!"

The pairs of Great Healers began to arrive in the village in waves of enormous Birds of War, the Warrior Healers immediately behind them.

Oriel discovered the twin sons of the village elder near death from wounds they had received fighting off the slavers. He sent to his brother, Nokla, to come and assist.

The twin's parents were beside themselves in grief that their sons were dying. Nokla said, "Be easy old Mother, your sons shall live."
 
Nokla took one twin and Oriel the other and brought them to Bil and Set, placing them on blankets the villagers had brought.

As Bil and Set laid their hands on the boys, they were surrounded by waves of energy and red light. They called for meld and Healers not busy healing wounded villagers came running. Bil and Set drew energy from the Healers without the need of contact; the air shimmered and grew warm as they drew energy from the Healers.

As the Elder and his wife looked on, the terrible wounds their sons had suffered began to close, broken bones began to knit and a missing hand was seen reforming at the end of a shattered arm!

When the meld collapsed, the two boys awoke, healed and refreshed. They ran their hands over their bodies, only to find them healed and whole, their mother and father hugging them and washing them in their tears.

The village drums began to speak, "WONDEROUS BOY HEALERS HAVE RESTORED ALF AND FAR, COME, BRING YOUR WOUNDED AND SICK THAT THEY MIGHT BE HEALED BY THE BOY HEALERS"

Almost in minutes, people from the surrounding villages began to arrive. Some came out of curiosity of what was going on, many more came who were in need of the Healers.

The Healers and the Great Healers sent for their Cadets and they proceeded to care for folk who had never been cared for before. The longer the drums spread their message, more and more folk arrived, some desperate for help.

Over the next several days, hundreds of people were healed and made whole. The people on the ships took advantage of the stop to come ashore and stretch their legs.

When the line of those needing healing dwindled to a stop, the villagers put on a great feast for their saviors. There was dancing and singing and foods non-stop, the people were celebrating both the salvation from the slavers as well as those who had been healed of their afflictions.

The twin sons of the Elder timidly came before Bil and Set and bowed their heads to the ground. They asked, "Great Lords, we would accompany you that you might teach us to do what you do, that we may heal our own folk."

Set replied, "It is a lifetime of labor you ask, but first, you must ask our Fathers and our Leaders, Ton and Kal"

The twins went before Ton and Kal, again bowing their heads to the ground. Before they could speak, Ton and Kal lifted them up to their feet, "We are not gods, nor do we wish you to worship us. Please, stand like Free Men and ask."

The twin began again," Lords, we beg that we might accompany you that we might learn to help our people as you have helped us."

Ton turned to Bil and Set, "Do you, Bil and Set, Great Healers, accept Alf and Far as your Cadets?"

Both Great Healers replied, "We do accept Alf and Far as our Red Beret Cadets."

So it was that the fleet sailed away with two sons of the village as Cadets. They left behind two Warrior Healers, four Cadets and a Vampire Healer, all of whom had volunteered to stay behind and provide health care for those who had never had such before.

There were great storms and the sea was furious and angry as the fleet rounded the Boot of Africa. They pushed on as they had promised themselves that they would wipe out the strongholds of the slavers hiding in the Malay Islands.

As they neared those islands, the smell of fear and lost hope hung in the air like a miasma of evil. The islands had no names known to them but they sensed two centers of evil on the first island they approached.

Wave after wave of great birds of war departed the ships, Oriel and Nokla leading the largest group. They dove down upon the slaver city, their rage burning holes in the sky.

A blast of energy was emitted by the two Hybrid Warriors and the entire city was a smoking ruin of shattered logs and broken bricks. Only the slave pens remain intact and undamaged.

Again, two angry giants, clothed only in flames, roared through the slave pens, shattering gates and destroying walls. Not a single slaver survived the onslaught as they freed thousands of slaves who were being kept for sale.

The warriors found the slaves to be in deplorable condition, sickness and injuries untreated, sores from whips and torture on their bodies. Waves of Healers arrived to care for the former slaves, so grim was their task, many healers were in tears.

Across the island, a smaller city met much the same fate. The amount of energy being expended in healing scorched trees surrounding the slave pens and small animals cowered in their burrows in fear.

It took them four days of non-stop healing to restore the former slaves to health.

The fleet cruised from one end to the other of the archipelago, destroying all traces of the slavers. The last island was also the worst; most of those enslaved in the last city to be destroyed were children! The fury of the Human Hybrids was monumental as they scrubbed the whole island down to bare dirt.

They brought the child slaves to their ships, rather than treat them among the burned out filth of their place of captivity.

Many had been intentionally maimed and deformed to provide entertainment to their masters. The Great Healers were the only ones who had the power and the knowledge to restore those who had been so treated and they began their awful task immediately.

For days, the air above the MHS Roger glowed with the energies being wielded by the Great Healers. Their Cadets had to work in shifts, so great was the emotional strain on their young minds, it would have destroyed lesser beings.

It was truly a baptism of fire for Alf and Far, a baptism that only strengthened their determination to become Healers themselves. They learned to push their own life force to Bil and Set, it was soon noted that the energy stream from those two was more focused and a lesser amount was lost. They also were able to stand up to the demands of their Great Healers for longer periods of time before needing rest.

Bil and Set made up their minds to speak of the matter with their parents, Ton and Kal.

The fleet lingered in the archipelago for a month, assisting the freed slaves in establishing new villages and in planting farms to feed their people.

In one village, an elderly man came to them. He bowed and said, "Lords Warrior, I am Ging-Li. We have a family story that goes back into the dawn of time. A fisherman and his brother were saved by the Hybrid Warriors. That fisherman was also Ging-Li and his brother was Guon-Li. We have kept this story alive for two thousand years as we have waited for your return. My two Grandsons, twins Ging-Li and Guon-Li, have a request for you. May I present them?"

Lymal and L'oki were intrigued, they also, knew the legendary story of Ging-Li and Guon-Li. They mind-called to Teddy and Tong-Fu, that they also might meet this family of their own legends.

The old grandfather returned with two young boys and they bowed deeply to the four Fabled Human Hybrids.

Lymal briefly scanned the two boys and immediately called for Ton and Kal to come quickly. He sensed minds so powerful, only those two Great Healers could understand them.

Ton and Kal came immediately, they were met with a barrage of energy that staggered them. The waves of energy that were being emitted by the two boys were visible to the naked eye!

The two boys knelt before Ton and Kal, "Lords, our minds tell us that you are the ones. The ones we have been seeking our entire lives. We submit to you to do as you will. We ask only, that we be allowed your company."

Kal asked, "Your wish is to become Great Healers?"

Both boys replied as one, YES!"

Ton said, "What we do is a lifetime of commitment to all of Humankind. In healing and in war, we serve the Races of Man. Once it is done, there is no turning back."

The boys both replied, "We would serve all of Humankind for the rest of our lives."

Ton and Kal turned to face their fathers and the leaders of their race, "Fathers, Lords Prince of our kind, these youths, Ging-Li and Guon-Li are our equals in power and their minds tell us of their commitment to all the Races of Man. They are destined to be Great Healers."

He and Kal reached for the boy's hands, to lead them off to their time of change.

Ging-Li said, I am an old man now, could I be permitted to accompany you, so that I might be near my Grandsons in my old age?"

Lymal replied, "Old Father, you have earned that right, yes, you may accompany us in honor and dignity, be welcome in our company and know that you are safe and secure among us."

He then showed Ging-Li their vampiric nature by dropping his fangs and allowing his eyes to go deep ruby red.

Ging-Li bowed deeply saying, "This, also, is part of our legends. When your folk returned Guong-Li to our people, he described you to them. Come, let me show you."

He led the four members of the Race of their Legends to a small building and asked them to enter with him. There, painted on the wall was a Human Hybrid Warrior, his fangs dropped and his eyes glowing red! There were small jars of oil with burning wicks in them below the drawing.

Ging-Li said, "My family has maintained this shrine to your folk for two thousand years. We have prayed for your return and now you are here among us once again."

The old man had tears coursing down his old face, "I hope my namesake served you well."

Teddy replied, "He did, Old Father, I can remember him being around Fort Warrior when I was a small child, before I became a Hybrid Warrior. He would tell us boys of the wondrous thing that the Hybrid Warriors had done."

Teddy hugged the old man until his tears ended.

Ging-Li said, "May this Ging-Li tells the stories to today's young children as well?"

Teddy and Tong-Fu both hugged the old man, "Yes, Old Father, as many stories as you care to tell our children that they might know of the works of their ancestors."

The old man looked closely at Tong-Fu, "There is a legend of a small baby boy taken by slavers, his young parents had been murdered by them. A short time later, your folk came and destroyed the slaver city, but that small boy was never found."

He asked, "Are you that Tong-Fu?"

Tong-Fu collapsed into a chair, tears streaming down his face as he sobbed, "Yes, Old Father, I WAS that boy."

Ging-Li hugged Tong-Fu and said, "Then, we are related Lord, Your Mother was cousin to the first Ging-Li." The old man and the Lord Prince of the Hybrid Warrior Folk hugged each other for a long time.

Then Tong-Fu said to the Old Man, "I was made a Turned Vampire in order to save my life before I became a Human Hybrid Warrior. I offer to you, Ging-Li, that same chance. I would turn you to be a Turned Vampire. You would stop aging and be able to tell your stories to many generations of youngsters before your time would be up. You could watch your Grandsons come into their destinies as Great Healers."

Ging-Li thought for a long while before he replied, "I would do that if I would be allowed to teach all the children, not just the children of the Warriors. I would teach all the children the stories of your ancestors and how they AND you have changed the world, made it a better place for all Humankind."

Tong-Fu and Teddy both said, "Done and DONE!"

Tong-Fu insisted on personally helping Ging-Li pack his meager belongings for the trip. Technicians from the ship came and placed a protective seal over the Painting of the Human Hybrid Warrior so that it might remain fresh and clear for all the ages to come.

Four Turned Vampire Healers and a pair of Human Hybrid Warrior Healers with their two cadets, elected to remain there in the Malay Archipelago to provide protection and healing for the folk living there.

When all was readied, the great ships drew back on the control rods of their reactors and began building steam pressure to resume their voyage home. As they steamed out of the harbor, their whistles and sirens shrieked in salute to the brave folk who lived there and to the ancestor of some of their own!

When they had sailed out to the open sea, Tong-Fu escorted Ging-Li to his own stateroom and performed the necessary blood exchange, making him a Turned Vampire. As Tong-Fu sat Vigil upon the old man, he reflected upon his own long life, first as a Turned Vampire himself and then his Change to a Human Hybrid Warrior in order that he might be with the love of his life, Teddy. The tragedy they shared when Roger and Little Bear died and the one thousand years since that time, of the slow decline of their civilization and its resurgence since the time of the Healers and subsequent Great Healers; the resurgence of Humankind in North America and now the rescue of those from England and a new chance for those in the Malay Archipelago.

The remainder of voyage was pure tedium, the closer they got to home, the slower time seemed to pass. At last, the northern port of Darwin came over the horizon.

As they neared the port, streams of vessels of all sorts came out to greet these world heroes. Governor Dunbar came out on one of small ships and begged their Kings to visit the port and bring the Wondrous Warriors and Healers so that the people might pay homage to them.

King George and King Fala agreed and the mighty ships altered course for Darwin Harbor. The entire population of the city and the surrounding areas turned out to welcome their heroes.

Ton and Kal decided to take the opportunity to hold clinic while they were there, Lymal and L'oki agreed and they asked the mayor for use of two empty warehouses near the piers.

Word spread like wildfire that the Boy Healers were there and would hold clinic.

People began to arrive in the dark hours of the morning, bringing their sick, their injured and those without hope, hoping for cure. The Cadets arrived early and began sorting out the patients.

Gan and Lor, two of the older Cadets, came up to an elderly Aborigine couple, carrying two small boys. It was obvious they were in extremis, the boys were nearly dead from snake bite.

Gan mind-screamed for a Great Healer, Ton and Kal were next up and they responded immediately.

The old couple told them the boys were their grandsons, that their parents were both dead and the boys were all they had left of their family. Ton and Kal called for Bil and Set, their sons, to assist them. Ton and Kal each took a boy and placed him on the treatment table.

Soon, the room reeked of ozone as life force energies were transferred. Ton called, "Set, meld" Set began broadcasting to his father.

Bil did the same for Kal without being asked.

The old couple stared in amazement as limbs, blackened with poison, returned to their normal color and the swollen limbs shrank back to normal size. The boys' breathing returned to normal and their tremors ceased.

Finally, both Ton and Kal shouted, "It's Gone"

One little boy awoke calling, "Grandmama, Grandmama, I am not sick anymore."

The old man was sitting on the floor in tears. Ton lifted him to his feet and said, "Old Father, your grandsons are safe now, take them home and love them."

The old man said, "I am High Chief of the Arundel Band. My people shall be told of you and your kindness towards us."

Before darkness that same night, the drums began their message, "GREAT BOY HEALERS SAVED THE HIGH CHIEF'S GRANDSONS BRING ALL WHO NEED GREAT HEALING TO DARWIN"

The next morning Aborigine Folk from the hinterlands filled the city, bringing their dying, their sick and their injured as a last hope for their lives.

It took two more weeks before the last of their patients were seen.

The High Chief and the Grand Shaman of the Arundel came to the city in full regalia, asking to meet with the Boy Healers. Their entire nation marched behind them.

Lymal and L'oki gathered the Great Healers to meet with the tribal leaders. The Grand Shaman led off, "Our legends tell of a time when the winged creatures of heaven will come to the land to save the sick, cure the lame, and heal the injured. It is a legend so old, we know not from where it originated, but we want you to have this painting on the skin of a beast no longer living on this earth."

He unrolled the skin of what looked like a house sized saurian. In still vivid colors was a Human Hybrid Warrior, his fangs dropped and eyes ruby red! In one hand, he held a ball of fire and in the other was a tiny baby.

The High Chief stepped forward, "This is one of the oldest and most revered treasures left to us by our ancestors. Our people came to this land many tens of thousands of years ago and left this drawing that we might know you by. The Prophesy is fulfilled, you have returned to us!"

The old chief turned to his people and called out, "Folk of Arundel, from this day forward it is our duty to guard, support and revere these winged warriors and healers. Unto our last breath, we shall serve their every need!"

He turned back to the Warriors and bowed, "We shall meet you at your home." He then turned on his heel and marched with his people from the city.

Lymal turned to L'oki and asked, "Where are these legends coming from? First, there was that drawing in Old Charleston, then another in the Malay Archipelago and now this one. He held up the huge lizard skin to look at the drawing.

He said, "His face looks familiar, but I cannot place it." Teddy and Tong-Fu were standing there, and suddenly Teddy screamed, "It is Daddy Roger!" He fell to the ground, weeping uncontrollably.

The Human Hybrids were weary and anxious to return to the quiet of Fort Warrior. They boarded the ships and steamed out of Darwin Harbor, at last, on their final leg home.

As the ships steamed into Cairns Harbor, the entire population was there to greet them. Knowing that their beloved Warriors were weary, the people let the children go forward to greet them.

As weary as they were, every warrior had several children attending them and smiles on their faces. They were HOME!

As they trooped down the gangways, they were met by smiling Arundel Warriors, leading the children to greet them. By the time they entered the confines of Fort Warrior, they were nearly healed.

An innocent child's hug or kiss was a magical restorative.

TBC

This ends this part of the story of these great and wondrous men. Their story is nearly done, only the mysterious paintings remain or, is there more for them to discover?