The Magic of All the Ages

2519BC

The buck moon was ethereal-white and full, illuminating the edges of the clouds around it. The trees and grasslands were glazed with a silver sheen.

The mighty circle of rocks glistened in the moonlight, sturdy and magnificent, calmly waiting to fulfil their purpose. The Mad Sorceress had used the magic of teleportation exactly twelve years prior to bring the stones from the far west coast to the site. Using the magic of levitation, she had arranged them into a circle of arches. Two long vertical pillars with a horizontal stone across the top.

For twelve years, the stones had absorbed the magic of the Earth, a magic the humans mostly neglected and wasted. A magic they feared, even though it was available to all. The magic of the Earth does not discriminate. For twelve years, the Mad Sorceress had waited to unleash her first work on this strange new planet.

From the moon, she watched. A lone stag wandered into the stone circle, grazing on the lush greenery. The sorceress whispered from the moon to the stone, and between each arch, a glowing force of magic swirled.

The stag looked up and froze. Bathed in the bright colour of magic, its eyes gleamed. The beastly antlers and bulky body cast a black shadow onto the ground.

The first strike lit the land like a thousand bolts of lightning. An otherworldly spirit soared from a portal in an arch between the rocks and merged with the soul of the deer. Another strike, another spirit, and the stag began to transfigure. Another strike, another flash of magic. Another. And another.

When the striking ended, the stag stood tall like a human and its thoughts had become much clearer and it roared, “What is this calling?”

The sorceress whispered from the moon, “This is the beginning of a new dawn, and you are The Chosen One. Bow to the ground, and then look to the moon, and I will give you the Magic of All the Ages, and your kind will have the power to rule the Earth.”

The stag bowed low, and its antlers touched the ground, then it stood tall and gazed at the moon.

“Now call your kin,” the sorceress whispered.

The stag called.

Through the arches of swirling magic, all manner of deer appeared, all standing tall like humans and jabbering with confusion, scattering into the woodlands.

The Chosen One had never seen such a wonderous and magnificent sight. Each deer had attained artifacts from different times and different worlds. Weapons, fashion, technology, treasures, and other curious things from the past and future.

“Do not run,” The Chosen One called, and yet its new herd continued to scatter. Thousands and thousands emerged through the arches until dark clouds crept over the moon and the magic was over.

The Mad Sorceress whispered, “Unite them. Take what’s yours. The tides will turn.”

The Chosen One charged around the land telling his kin they’d been blessed by a goddess from beyond the skies and that the goddess had ordered them to unite. They gathered at the stone circle to make their plans.

By the early hours of the morning, thousands of morphed deer were camped around Stonehenge.

Inside the circle, the kings and queens from each faction discussed their plans with The Chosen One.

Naturally, there were disagreements about what they should do with their new found powers, but The Chosen One was wise and fair, and suggested they take the lands from the violent humans and divide it between themselves equally to live in peace and prosperity.

Chaos erupted on the outskirts of the camp. Deer roared and howled as arrow fire and rocks rained down on them.

The kings and queens of the deer rallied their troops and fought back, and with their new weapons and armour they pushed the attackers into retreat until they were attacked no more.

“We must build defences and create order amongst our ranks,” The Chosen One said, and the kings and queens agreed, and the beginnings of the Stag Alliance were formed.

Human armies from all over the land attacked the Stag Alliance at Stonehenge. The siege lasted years, yet with each attack the Stag Alliance became stronger and more battle smart. Their technology was too great for the humans, and their spirits were too strong. Centuries of being hunted, they finally had the power to fight back. And eventually, the attacks stopped, and the deer grew strong and spread across the land.

The hunted had become the hunters. The new dawn had begun.