Seal, then betray T h a n o s K a l a m i d a s sEal, ThEn B E TRaY Thanos Kalamidas Ovi ebooks are available in Ovi/Ovi eBookshelves pages and they are for free. If somebody tries to sell you an Ovi book please contact us immediately. For details, contact: ovimagazine@yahoo.com No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior permission of the writer or the above publisher of this book An Ovi eBooks Publication 2025 Ovi eBookPublications - All material is copyright of the Ovi eBooks Publications & the writer C Seal, then betray Seal, then betray Thanos Kalamidas Thanos Kalamidas An Ovi eBooks Publication 2025 Ovi eBookPublications - All material is copyright of the Ovi eBooks Publications & the writer C Seal, then betray T he crack of hooves on wet earth startled Paul Floyd from the half-sleep he never remem- bered falling into. He blinked. The air smelled of mud, wet parchment, and iron, so vividly unlike his south London flat where burnt espresso and cat hair reigned. The dream again. But not quite a dream. Not anymore. The trees bowed as if hiding secrets. And before him, a clearing: men in cloaks, chainmail, and ink- stained fingers hunched over scrolls. A canopy of silk fluttered above a dais. And under it, King John. Yes, that King John. Thanos Kalamidas Paul adjusted the frayed tunic his mind always con- jured up in these “episodes,” scratching beneath the crude neckline. A scribe at his side whispered, and the king glared, hand twitching over the wax seal. He was witnessing the signing, no, the sealing of the Magna Carta. June 15, 1215. Runnymede. “I’m not supposed to be here,” Paul muttered. He felt the shiver again. He always did. Like standing too close to the mouth of a furnace. The seal would drop, the history books would turn. But something was different tonight. A knight dismounted near the riverbank, tall, cloaked, with a raven stitched on his surcoat. Not in the records. Not in any fresco, museum placard, or documentary Paul had ever laid eyes on. The knight’s voice was a low gravel. “He doesn’t mean it.” A baron, de Clare, if Paul’s fading A-Level history served, turned sharply. “What?” “I said,” the knight repeated, stepping closer to the dais, “His Majesty means to betray the charter.” Seal, then betray Murmurs rippled. Paul edged closer behind a pillar of tented cloth, every fibber of his body aware this wasn’t merely re- enactment-grade hallucination. King John sneered. “What betrayal? I seal what you demand. The charter is here. The wax is hot. The words, your precious liberties, inked and dry.” “But not your will,” the knight said, pacing slowly now, like a wolf nearing prey. “You will rescind it the moment these barons disband. You’ve already sent word to the Pope.” Paul’s breath hitched. He had . He remembered that from his textbooks. John had written to Innocent III, begging annul- ment. A paper seal and a knife behind the back. The dream was echoing truths, real ones. De Clare looked to his fellow barons. “You swore before God...” “God?” John laughed. “My crown is divine, not yours.” Steel rang in the air. Thanos Kalamidas Paul saw it unfold as if in storyboard sketches, bar- ons reaching for hilts, the raven knight’s hand mov- ing not to weapon but scroll. He lifted an alternate Magna Carta, the text amended in red ink. The claus- es altered. Rewritten. Dangerous. “The real charter,” the knight said softly. “The one he meant to seal.” Gasps. “Who are you?” one of the bishops asked. “I am... correction,” the knight said cryptically. Then, looking at Paul, directly , unmistakably, he add- ed, “And he is witness.” Everyone turned to Paul. The dream never did this. “You! The shadow-man!” John spat. “You stand where angels fear!” Paul’s feet moved backward instinctively, but the earth seemed to ripple beneath him. He tried to speak but could only cough out a dry whisper. “I don’t belong...” “You do ,” said the raven knight, “because you re- Seal, then betray member. You always wake remembering. The wrong version, but remembering still.” Paul looked down. His hands, modern . Watch, wrist tattoo, the graphite smudge from thumbnail to palm he always got from sketching with a 4B pencil. His real hands. Not dream ones. “I want to leave,” Paul said. “I didn’t ask for...” “No one does,” the knight said. “And yet all are drafted.” John roared. “Seize them!” But the moment shattered like broken wax. Paul staggered. The fabric of the air tore like canvas in fire. The knight reached out, pressing something small into Paul’s hand— It burned. And then... Silence. * * * * * * * Paul Floyd sat bolt upright in his dark apartment. The coffee machine dripped like a metronome in mourning. His desk lamp flickered, casting shadows Thanos Kalamidas across parchment sketches of medieval figures. He panted, gripping something. In his hand, real, solid, a melted drop of red wax. Not modern. Not synthetic. Ancient. Stamped with a seal. A lion. And above it, in embossed Latin: Nos vidimus veritatem. We have seen the truth. Paul looked up. And from the mirror, the raven knight looked back. End Seal, then betray Seal, then betray Yesterday’s Visitor Thanos Kalamidas Ovi eBook Publishing 2025 Ovi magazine Design: Thanos Ovi ebooks are available in Ovi/Ovi eBookshelves pages and they are for free. If somebody tries to sell you an Ovi book please contact us immediately. For details, contact: ovimagazine@yahoo.com No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior permission of the writer or the above publisher of this book An Ovi eBooks Publication 2025 Ovi eBookPublications - All material is copyright of the Ovi eBooks Publications & the writer C Thanos Kalamidas T h a n o s K a l a m i d a s sEal, ThEn B E TRaY Thanos Kalamidas , a multipublished writer, cartoonist and illustrator; born and grew up in a picturesque neighbourhood on the moun- tainside of Hymettus in Athens, Greece. Then his life took him to Berlin, Germany and to London, UK for studies. After a brief stay in Yorkshire he moved his life to Paris, France while working in Tokyo, Japan and in Cape Town, South Africa. In the last 25 years he became a permanent Scandinavian resident and recently, in his glorious sixth de- cade, he moved to a scenic village in the Växjö area.