In a top-secret laboratory in Edinburgh, the brilliant British-Japanese scientist, Prof. Itawa was nearing the end of his arduous project. He had discovered through years of research a way to transform and transmute the properties of objects in a way similar to the Talisman of Change. However, his device was different, as there was only one true Talisman of Change and Merlin was in charge of it. His invention consisted of two spirals (one heavy and one hot) intertwined with each other, but it lacked the shining spiral. Still he was eager to see if it worked and he had an experiment in mind. He decided that he would take one of the lizards they kept caged in the laboratory and see if he could use the double spiral to alter the creature so it no longer had to feed on the rodents they also kept there. Instead the lizard would live on raw electricity. This would be a great deal better, he reasoned, as there would no longer be the mess and hassle of keeping the rats and mice and it would be a lot cheaper in the long run, because they could lay off the lab assistants who tended to these little mammals.
So, he put on his new invention, took a lizard and then used the power of the double spiral to transmute the reptile. Back in its cage, the lizard was no longer given his usual diet of rodents. Instead, two contacts from a car battery were pushed through the bars and the lizard would lick these voraciously to try to satisfy its hunger. As Prof. Itawa observed the new feeding habits of the lizard over the next few weeks, he congratulated himself on his success. He had great ideas about how his device could be harnessed to bring benefits to mankind in ways never before considered and in doing so he might also win the Nobel Prize.
A few nights later though, disaster struck as a group of animal liberationists broke into the laboratory and opened all the cages to free the imprisoned creatures. The lizard made its escape and after hunting down the remaining rodents, it found another way to try and feed its hunger: the mains outlet! It inserted its forked tongue directly into the socket (Don’t try this at home!) and felt a surge of power enter its body. As it sucked up the energy, it started to grow rapidly in size; its whole system jacked up on hundreds of volts. Soon it was the size of a dog!
When morning came, Prof. Itawa entered the laboratory and found the place completely wrecked. As he picked up the ‘phone to dial the police, he felt very uneasy and suddenly had the urge to run. But it was too late! In an instant, the lizard leapt on him, knocking him out cold and swiftly clamped its jaws down on the head of the professor. By this time the lizard was as large as a crocodile and soon made a meal of poor Prof. Itawa, swallowing simultaneously the double spiral he wore.
The lizard’s appetite was insatiable and it went out to seek more power. It discovered an electricity sub-station and fed on it until its transformers had all melted down. So it followed the high-tension power cables across the land until it reached a huge, ominous looking building on the coastline which was a nuclear power plant! It began to feed directly off the main power output as the terrified engineers fled in all directions. Left unattended, the reactor began to overheat and leak the deadly radiation into the surrounding environment. When the radiation hit the now enormous lizard, it caused a strange reaction to occur due to the presence of the double spiral which was inside the reptile. Its gigantic form began to mutate and it started to grow a number of additional heads and even huge scaly wings. Each head began to spew a different kind of destructive substance: one, petroleum-like fire; another, a deadly toxic venom; yet another, noxious fumes. It became a truly hideous sight and by this time it was virtually as big as a truck. The radioactive substance had another effect on the reptile, which now resembled a fearsome dragon. It suddenly could sense that there was another double spiral like the one it held within its body and now it was being drawn towards that device in order to devour it and consume its power also. So, it began to track down the vibrations it emitted, destroying everything in its path.
By this time the armed forces had been alerted to the existence of this terrible monster. They did everything they could to destroy it, but to no avail. It seemed impervious to explosives, fire or bullets, and as it continued south through the country, it would stop at any part of the national grid it came across and drain it until that area had no more power supply. Each time, of course, it would grow more fearsome and destructive. And if any of the inhabitants of the area were unfortunate enough to be in its path, then they would be maimed in some way and in the worst cases would die.
The monster had become so widely known about that the national television news programs were doing emergency bulletins and Blaze had contacted Merlin to discuss this grave matter with him. Blaze revealed to Merlin that in the distant past, at the time of Vortigern, there had been a prophecy that such a monster would come into existence. It had many names associated with it in different cultures, but it was known to Blaze’s forbears as Ravador. Blaze’s incredible insight into such matters showed him the cause of the creation of the monster and allowed him to predict its eventual destination: London! He instructed Merlin to go to London to find the second double spiral and take it out of the city to divert Ravador away from the defenceless population. Merlin would then know what to do because he had the true Talisman of Change with him.
So, as Blaze had instructed, Merlin went to the home of the sister of Prof. Itawa to whom he had sent the second double spiral as a present. He rang at her door and when she answered, he was immediately struck by her stunning beauty. After a brief introduction, Merlin explained the situation and asked that she give him her double spiral. She replied:
“I’d like to keep it as a token of remembrance of Ivor, now that he’s gone, but in the circumstance, I think you should take it.”
So, thanking Miss Itawa, he set off for a remote hill in the countryside which had been evacuated especially.
The spot was unmistakable, as it was close to a huge chalk horse cut into a nearby slope and fortunately Merlin had timed his diversion just right, as he didn’t have to wait long before he spotted the huge, menacing form of Ravador the dragon approaching. Ravador came at Merlin at a fearful speed, partially propelling itself with its giant flapping wings, partially with its enormous legs which tore at the ground in its frenzied stride. Merlin was overwhelmed by its size, which was now as big as a five-storey building, at least, and he almost froze in terror. Summoning up all his courage, he assessed the situation. His Talisman of Change would be ineffective if used on its own, because the monster had the power of the other double spiral which counteracted it, except for the shining spiral. This part provided the only hope, but it wasn’t sufficient without further aid. So Merlin decided he would combine its force with that of the incantation Blaze had taught him.
So, he began to sing! His voice went up and down scales and arpeggios at the dizzying speed of a virtuoso. Ravador’s pace slowed and came to a halt as it heard this music, almost for a moment distracting it from its evil intent. However, in the meantime, Merlin had homed in on the exact pitch, which resonated with Ravadors huge form and then became silent. Ravador once again reared his many heads and with a terrible cry, went for Merlin. Simultaneously, Merlin chanted the first few syllables of his incantation in a rapid staccato fashion at Ravador’s resonant pitch. Instantly, the dragon was stunned and stopped in its tracks. With another syllable, Merlin made Ravador freeze rigid, so it seemed almost to be made of stone. Then Merlin hit the high note with the emphasised syllable of his chant and as he prolonged and intensified it, Ravador began to crack up. Its structure had become so rigid that it shattered into thousands of pieces and as Merlin finished the incantation, the debris crumbled to dust which the wind then blew away. Merlin was left standing alone in the country, greatly relieved that he had defeated Ravador and the only trace of the dragon was the patch of blasted ground where it had stood and where nothing would grow for many, many years due to its foul presence.
Merlin used the Talisman of Change to transform the double spiral into pure gold, which eliminated its powers, so that no one could ever use it again for some foolish purpose. He took it to Miss Itawa, who was grateful that she had been spared from Ravador and still had a token to remember her brother by. And so Merlin and Miss Itawa became friends and in the peaceful days which ensued Merlin continued to pursue his goal of becoming a true magician.