The Mage.
The red spring sat within the Chalice gardens, a name taken from the legend of Joseph of Arimathea who was said to have brought the Holy Grail to ancient Britain. The red spring though, was far older and was the source of the Red Dragon power. The spring was close to the base of the Tor, not far from the White Spring that was the source of the White Dragon. The White Spring was now housed in a Victorian built temple. This temple of the White well was run by volunteers some of whom had climbed the Tor to meet with George. Both springs were known to have the power of healing but their full power now flowed and needed only to be released by George.
Collecting water from both springs in stone jars those who had seen the dragons brought them to George at the base of the Tor. Cigarette Man, who George had found out was called Mick was acting as his personal helper and was drinking bottles of orange juice that his friend Billy had run into Glastonbury to get. He said the orange juice was helping with his come-down from the acid, although he still saw a knight’s shadow coming from George.
Once George had five jugs from each spring before him he sat down before the jugs and began his prayers. On the Isle of Glass George had added to his training as a healer and become a Mage. Before that he had been a doctor and served in the Great War. He used the skills he had learnt on the Isle of Glass to release the power of the waters that were already filled with healing powers. With the prayers finished George took a jug of red and white and mixed them together into a larger jug and then added herbs and healing plants that he had requested also be brought to him.
His first patient was a man with severe Psoriasis, his skin red and angry looking. Taking a cloth, George dipped it into the jug and began to wipe down the man’s arms as people stood around with their mobile phone filming. After a few minutes of George gently washing the man’s skin it began to calm down as the cracked skin smoothed out and healed. All around George and the man gasps came from those recording the event as the waters of the springs worked to heal him.
Next up came a woman who was pale, her eyes bulging from a loss of weight as the cancer in her was winning the battle. George again mixed the water and added different plants to it. When ready he made her drink what she could from the jug and then sat holding her hands as he sent out his energies into her to reduce the tumour within her. For over an hour he sat with her and then she drank some more of the water. The people watching saw colour gradually return to her face and the lines of pain disappear from her face. After George had finished she was helped to a quiet place to rest for a few more hours before she helped home.
After she had gone to rest George went into his tent and reached into a bowl where a pigs heart lay, placing his hand onto it he closed his eyes and began to mumble words of power. The heart had been bought at the local supermarket and as George concentrated the flesh began to blacken and spoil as the cancer cells drawn out of the woman and into George was transferred into the heart.
George saw another three people that first day, ones chosen by those who had come up the Tor to meet him, some had terminal illnesses while other just long-term conditions that affected their lives. Each time his treatment of them was filmed and the videos were uploaded to the internet and shared far and wide on its social media. By the time the sun set those videos had been viewed thousands of times and people around the world were talking about the Glastonbury healer.
That night the first of the reporters of the worlds press arrived in Glastonbury and one found the cancer patient George had treated offering her a private health assessment of her condition. When they got the results back a few days later that the cancer that she had stopped having treatment for was in full remission the media interest turned into a global frenzy. The local police were forced to make a cordon around the Tor to keep the media and people back as the crowds grew.
For a week George sat at the base of the Tor within a tent that Mick had turned up with, treating between three and five people each day depending on who the police allowed through. In all that time Mick and half a dozen others stayed at the base of the Tor. The toll of doing so much healing in such a short space of time was having an effect on George and he was ageing as he abused the limits of his power.
George had fallen into a routine with the few others allowed to camp at the base of the Tor over the week. The local police had set a limit on the number of people to camp at the Tor and while respectful to George he could tell they were nervous of causing a major disturbance if they tried to move them on. George had been more than happy to agree a number of six people to stay with him, not wanting a large crowd around him.
During the day he would heal those brought to him and then he would eat the food brought in by the police, donated by the people of Glastonbury, with the people of the little camp. Later on he would walk up the Tor to meditate. Mick would always follow, he had become George’s shadow and fussed around him making sure he had everything he needed, and often things he didn’t. Yet despite the fussing Mick seemed to sense when to give George space and while George meditated he would hold back and sip from one of the bottles of cider that seemed to be part of the daily delivery to them.
Coming out of his meditation George looked around before beckoning Mick over to sit with him. Mick sat down and offered his half drunk bottle of cider to George.
“It’s good stuff, brewed local so none of that supermarket crap, a proper fucking scrumpy.” Mick said with a grin.
“No thank you, I need to keep my mind sharp for healing.” George answered. “Why are you here Mick?”
“I followed you up the Tor.” Mick said.
“I mean here with me, doing this?” asked George.
“Got nowhere else I need to be at, I’m not what you’d call an asset to society. With you though it makes me think I can be and really help people. Maybe I could even learn something so I could help more.” Mick said hopefully.
“You do realise that being next to me is going to be dangerous in the coming days.” George warned .
“I know, we’ve all talked about it in the camp, there are fuckers out there who are going to want to stop you.” Mick said with a grin. “We know but we’re all staying and there’s plenty more ready to join us. We’ve even sorted out an escape plan to get off the Tor when they come.”
“It’s not just people I’m here to heal Mick, there’s something coming that I have to stop, it could cost us our lives.” George pressed.
“You’re here to save the world, we all know that those fuckers in charge are destroying the environment and they need stopping.” Mick said. “You don’t summon dragons and dead kings to set up as a doctor.”
“You said you had a plan to escape the Tor, well after that you need to regroup with a friend of mine and I will come to you later. I need to meet the person who is behind all of this and soon his followers will come here to take me to him.” George said. ‘lets return to the others and work out what we’re going to do.”
“Sound like a fucking plan to me.” Mick said with a grin.
“Why do you use that word so much?” George asked.
“Fuck? Cause it’s one of them thingy words, one that can mean anything and adds weight to what you say.” Mick said.
“In my day it was considered a crude word.” George said.
“In my day, I’m older than you.” Mick said.
“Despite how I look I served in the Great War Mick, I am far older than I seem.” George said.
“No fucking way,” Mick said and then grinned. “Lets go make these plans of yours but later I want a full story of your life and how you stayed so fucking young.”