![[The Phoenix Gate]](phoenix.jpg)
Other Appearances: "High Noon," "Avalon" Parts I-III, "M.I.A.," "Future Tense"
The Phoenix Gate, quite literally, *is* history, having spanned most of it during it's long existence. It is unknown how it first came into being, or why it was imbued with it's powers, which are to transport the individual who holds it and speaks the incantation to anywhere in space OR time it desires. The Gate was forged on Avalon, so it is likely fay in origin. It appears as a tiny golden shield, inlaid with a blue metal and a gold phoenix upon it.
The Phoenix Gate in 975 A.D. had found its way into the hands of one Princess Elena, to be given as a gift to Prince Malcolm during their wedding. The Archmage sought to steal it with bandits, but failed, so he left it to a young Demona to do it. As soon as she had, it sparked in her hand in response to it's counterpart from ahead in the timestream, her older self come to warn her of the Massacre to come. When the time travellers from the future had finally left, a young Demona was left with a foreknowledge of terrible things to come. She vowed that she would keep her oath to not become the terrible person she had witnessed. She sealed it with a vow to her young love, Goliath, breaking the Phoenix Gate in half and giving a half to him, telling him to keep it and cherish it always, and she in turn would cherish her half, pledging her heart and soul to him forever.
Years later, after the Massacre, Demona fled the castle in sorrow, taking her half with her, which remained with her all through the centuries. The other half was either buried with the ruins of Castle Wyvern, or stolen by looters, either way, it eventually ended up back at Castle Wyvern after the gargoyles had awakened. Goliath took it to Xanatos and Fox's wedding, reminding Demona that he still loved and cared for her. She fooled him totally, grabbing his half and sealing the two halves together once more, recompleting the Gate. She then used it to transport back through time back to 975 A.D., completing the time loop.
When Goliath returned with the whole Gate, he silently vowed that no one would ever use the Gate again, it was too powerful.
A few months later, the Gate was stolen by Demona and MacBeth, acting under the Weird Sisters' power. Because they had stolen Coldstone as well, it was weeks before the gargoyles even knew that it along with the Eye of Odin and the Grimorum Arcanorum had been stolen. The Weird Sisters gave these artifacts to the Archmage in the present, who then used the Gate to go back in time and complete his own circle, bringing his younger self up to date and telling him how he must do things to conquer the world. The Gate was also used in battle on Avalon to literally have the battle over before it began. When the Archmage was destroyed by Goliath, he took back the Phoenix Gate, swearing that it and the Eye of Odin were never going to be used again.
He broke that vow when he used the Gate in a desperate attempt to locate Griff, a young gargoyle whom two English gargoyles, Leo and Una, had sworn that Goliath had said he would protect him during World War II. Goliath used the Gate to go back to 1940 A.D., saving Griff's life and bringing him ahead to 1995.
The Phoenix Gate was then singled out by the Puck as a bargaining chip to keep him out of the Gathering for a few more centuries. He crafted a horrible dream to trick Goliath into giving him the Gate, because ancient rules forbade him from taking it by force. The plan failed and Goliath knew that Puck might try again, or that others might desire the Gate for evil ends. He spoke the incantation and flung the Phoenix Gate into its own flame, without a mind to direct it, apparently losing it forever in the mists of time.
In Greg Weisman's Master Plan, the Gate would be found by Brooklyn, and it would have taken him on a 40-year trip through space and time, in what would have been the spin-off series "TimeDancer." During these 40 years, Brooklyn would've got a mate, Katana, had two children named Nashville and Tachi, and adopted a "pet," a gargoyle beast named Fu-Dog. The Gate would have returned Brooklyn and his family to the same location Brooklyn had left from, but 5 minutes after he had left, and then traveled back to repeat its course in a continuous cycle.
The Phoenix Gate has the power to transport the holder through space and/or time with the right incantation, which is pronounced: "Deflagrate, muri tempi et intervalia!" A globe of flames which do not burn envelops the holder and whomever is close to him or her and transports them. The bearer must also think of the place and time to where he or she will be transported. If one is in command of powerful sorcery, the incantation need not be spoken, the desire and destination in the mind of the wearer are all that are required.