Anaith Malloy's classroom windows were dimmed by violet curtains and the scent of lavender and lady gray tea flowed in the air, it could make you go to sleep.
But, none of the students in her summer class were close to falling into their nightly dreams.
The woman herself stood in the middle of her room. Speaking in her hypnotic voice of the tails of King Authur and his knights. On the topic, she was explaining Excalibur.
It wasn't a myth, but a legend.
Holding a sword forged in the early sixth century she waltzed around the room.
"The sword was obtained by the king with the advice of his wizard-adviser Merlin. But it was considered that there existed two Excalibur swords.
The first was the one Merlin put into the stone and said that the throne will be taken by the one who will take the sword out of the stone." Anaith showed the sword around as she hear the door slowly open. She paused and glanced over.
Two men she didn't know nor did she want to- and Indiana.
Anaith sucked in a breath and continued
"Young Arthur was the one to do it. The second Excalibur was the one to which Merlin took the King. The sword was located at a magical lake where the Lady of the Lake gave it to Arthur."
She let one of her students touch the hilt of the sword. "Is this Excalibur, Dr. Malloy?"
Anaith chuckled glancing back to the door.
"Im afarid not Lucy, we don't know if it was real along with the legends of Authur."
Harry- one of her best students spoke up.
"Are the legends true?" Anaith shrugged putting the sword back in the case. "We don't know." She leaned on her desk. "Authur could have been a Saxon king, or he could have a Saxon soldier. We don't really know." She made eye contact with Indy. He nodded at the door.
She turned back to her class.
"Alright, lets end here today." Anaith clapped her hands together as her class made disappointed noises.
They started to get up and leave as the three men stand before her desk. She sat on said oak desk. "What can I do for you gentalmen?" She gave a side look to Indy.
"They're looking for Ravenwood, Ana." Indy lowered his voice. "Oh."
♤♤♤
After filling Anaith in on what she missed from the previous conversation Eaton finally asked the question that has been burning in everybody's mind.
"Then what do they want him for?"
Indy leaned against the desk next to the ginger.
"They’re looking for the headpiece to the Staff of Ra."
Musgrove looked at his sheet "But it says here that’s in China."
"But only half of it though. Ravenwood had the other half." Anaith chimed in looking at the three men.
"What would the Nazis want with this
- this Staff of Ra?" Eaton scoffed, not quite believing the two archeologists
Brody stepped up
"I can tell you that. Over the last two years the Nazis have had teams of archeologists running around the world looking for all kinds of religious artifacts."
"That’s right. Hitler’s a nut on the subject. Crazy. He’s obsessed with the occult." Musgrove agreed
"What is this Staff of Ra, anyway?" Eaton made a face
"It all has to do with the Ark of the Covenant." Indy states as Anaith agrees with a nod
The Army guys look intrigued
"The chest the Hebrews used to carry around the Ten Commandments." Anaith continues folding her hands on her green skirt.
Now it’s the Army men who are impressed.
"An Egyptian pharoah stole the Ark from Jerusalem and took it back to the city of Tanis. A short time later, Tanis was consumed by the desert in a sandstorm that lasted a year."
She took a breath, Indiana nodding telling her to go on.
"But before that, the Pharoah had the Ark hidden away in a secret chamber called the Well of the Souls. Which is where the Staff of Ra comes in."
Indy moves to the blackboard and snatches a piece of chalk off his friends desk than makes a quick sketch to give a rough idea of the system as he describes it.
"Now this was rather clever. The Staff was really just a big stick - oh, I don’t know, say like this" - he indicates about six feet
"- no one really knows for sure. Anyway, it was capped by an elaborate headpiece with a carving of the sun at the top. What you had to do was take the Staff to a special room in Tanis, it had the whole city laid out in miniature on the floor.
When you placed the Staff in a certain spot in the room, at a certain time of day, the sun would shine through a hole here in the headpiece and then send a beam of light down here - to the map - giving you the location of the Well of the Souls..." Indy trails off
"... where the Ark of the Covenant was kept." One of the other men say.
Indy nods.
"Which is probably what the Nazis are after." Anaith pointed out
"What’s this Ark look like?"
"Look like? Why, it’s right here..." Anaith pulls a big format book from the stack on her desk and flips through the pages until she finds a large color print. The other men gather to look.
It shows a Biblical battle.
The Israelite Army is vanquishing an opposition force. At the forefront of the Israelite ranks, two men carry the Ark of the Covenant, a beautiful gold chest, crowned by two sculptured gold angels.
The men do not touch the Ark itself; rather they carry it by use of two long wooden poles which pass through rings in the corners of the Ark.
The painting is very dramatic, full of smoke, tumult and sinewy dying men. But the most astonishing thing in the picture is the brilliant jet of white light and flame issuing from the wings of the angels.
It pierces deep into the ranks of the retreating enemy, wrecking devastation and terror.
"Good God!" Eaton gasped
"Yes. That’s what the Hebrews thought." Anaith hummed
"What’s that supposed to be coming out of there?"
"Who knows... lightning... fire... the power of God." Indy shrugged
"I’m beginning to understand Hitler’s interest in this thing." Eaton sighes crossing his arms.
"Oh yes. The Bible tells of it leveling mountains and wasting entire regions. Moses promised that when the Ark was with you, 'your enemies will be scattered and your foes fell before you'." Indy paused for effect.
"An army which carries the Ark before it is invincible."
Eaton and Musgrove exchange worried looks.
"Oh, there’s one other thing that Hitler undoubtedly believes about the Ark...
It’s said that the Lost Ark will be" there was pregnant pause
"recovered at the time of the coming of the True Messiah."
YOU ARE READING
Survivor • I. Jones
Fanfictionsur·vi·vor /sərˈvīvər/ noun a person who survives, especially a person remaining alive after an event in which others have died. Dr. Anaith Malloy a fiery archeologist that teaches mythology in her spare- well most of the time, when she isn't saving...
