《The Four Treasures Saga [Isekai / LitRPG]》


 Book 1: Chapter 1: A Midwinter Hike

    December 21, 2014. 7:30am


    Caerwent, UK


    ¨¦riu


    ¡°It¡¯s time to wake up, Bren.¡±


    ¡°What time is it?¡± I asked Tathan through the door.


    ¡°10 minutes since the last time I came to your door.¡± The impatient voice didn¡¯t seem to be moving from its spot outside of my room.


    We were staying in the Coach and Stables Inn, somewhere in Wales. I had too much to drink the night before and a morning hike no longer seemed like a great idea.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t get up and get ready now, we will miss the sunrise.¡± I could hear disappointment in Tathan¡¯s voice. That was unusual for my ¡°manservant.¡± Okay, he wasn¡¯t really my manservant. That¡¯s just what I called him¡­ to his face. And he loved it.


    Tathan was my caretaker; appointed and funded by my late parents to watch over me into adulthood. And adulthood began at age 30, right? Truthfully, I was the ripe old age of 22, but Tathan told me (regularly) that I was 22 going on 12. He meant it in the nicest possible way. I think.


    ¡°Okay! Okay. I¡¯ll get dressed. How long do I have?¡± I groggily searched through the pile of clothes I¡¯d left strewn on the floor.


    ¡°I told you all of this last night. Do you not remember any of it?¡± I could practically hear Tathan¡¯s eyes rolling.


    ¡°I know,¡± I said, while dancing one leg into my hiking pants. ¡°But I was more focused on my lukewarm Guinness and less focused on getting up at the ass crack of dawn.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s about 20 minutes up from the car park to the standing stones. Another 20 minutes to the Iron Age hill forts, and another five to the western edge of the hill.¡±


    I yanked my socks up. ¡°I¡¯m almost ready. I just have to brush the fuzz out of my mouth.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll meet you outside. It¡¯s a 5-minute ride to the car park. We have about 45 minutes until the sun rises over the Severn.¡±


    ¡°The what?¡± I asked, honestly confused. ¡°Why are we doing this again?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ hard to explain.¡± Even through the door, I could hear him struggling with his next words. ¡°You¡¯ll have to see it to believe it.¡±


    I heard the floor creak as the large man walked away. The fact that my overweight caretaker wanted to go on a hike was surprising. I think my desire to go back to bed was only overridden by the desire to see him sweating through his winter coat. I finished brushing my teeth, grabbed a coat, and headed out the door.


    Only one road ran through the middle of Caerwent, the town we were in. We were headed from the edge of the remains of a Roman wall to the residential area, and on the edge of that, to a parking lot. It¡¯s called a car park in Wales, I guess.


    ¡°What is the Severn?¡± I asked, still thinking about Tathan¡¯s last statement about wanting to reach our destination by sunrise.


    Tathan glanced at me. ¡°The River? You really don¡¯t know about the River Severn?¡±


    ¡°Hey! I¡¯ve never been here before. I¡¯ve been in the UK for about 30 hours at this point. Cut me some slack.¡±The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    He shook his head. ¡°You have been here before. You just don¡¯t remember.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± I said, trying to catch up to Tathan as we walked up the dark path. The trees hung over us and bared their empty branches. I could see my breath in the pre-dawn light. ¡°You know I don¡¯t remember that stuff.¡± The truth was, I didn¡¯t remember anything before my 18th birthday.


    Tathan kept his back to me. ¡°We haven¡¯t talked much about your memory loss, have we?¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ve tried. But you always tell me that ¡®someday, I will remember everything¡¯.¡± He didn¡¯t seem to notice my attempt at mocking his deep voice.


    Tathan stopped on the path. ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± The trees had begun to thin out this far up on the hill. In the distance, I could see some stones sticking up out of the ground next to the trail. ¡°And that day is today.¡±


    ¡°What is that supposed to mean?¡± I asked, finally catching up to him.


    Tathan turned toward me. I could see frost glistening on his beard in what little light there was. ¡°On Midwinter morn¡­¡± he began, but I cut him off with a laugh.


    ¡°¡®Midwinter morn?¡¯ Thou are speaking in yawn ways that doth hurt my ears. Come on. Tell me the truth. Why are we here?¡±


    He exhaled, his massive frame expelling a great cloud of mist into the air. He gazed around, before focusing back down the hill and to the horizon. ¡°I have come to love you, Bren. But if you are going to get through the next few weeks, you¡¯re going to have to start listening.¡± He paused. ¡°The druids of old engineered these standing stones to help their people understand the natural world. One of the things the stones told them was the exact date of Midwinter¡¯s morning.¡±


    ¡°How could a stone tell them that?¡± My curiosity was piqued by Tathan¡¯s serious tone.


    Tathan pointed over his right shoulder, back out to a body of water that I could only guess must be the Severn. "There is a notch in the hills across the Severn. On Midwinter¡¯s morning, the sun rises in the notch of the hill and lines up perfectly with the standing stones on this hill.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s pretty amazing. Does it still work that way? How many years ago are we talking?¡±


    ¡°Aye, it still ¡®works.¡¯ And the antiquity depends on which stones you are talking about. In Ireland, standing stones were used 5,000 years ago. These particular stones fell out of use around the time the Romans lured the Celtic tribes out of their hill forts, about 1500 years ago.¡±


    ¡°Why did the druids care so much about Midwinter morning?¡± I noticed the long grasses on the hill were becoming more visible as the sky continued to lighten.


    Tathan began walking again, up toward the first standing stone. We were still a few minutes away from the moss-covered stone. ¡°Several reasons. The first was that Midwinter morning, or the winter solstice, as we now call it, was the shortest day of the year. Tomorrow, the sun will shine in the sky a little bit longer than it did today. And so on¡­ The Celtic people used this information to begin preparing their agricultural calendar.¡±


    ¡°Fascinating¡­¡± I said, beginning to lose interest.


    Tathan noticed. He put his hand on my shoulder as we walked. ¡°It was an amazing time, especially on this particular spot. The people of the town came out of their earthen homes and celebrated one of the few days of the year when the veil between this world and the Otherworld was thin.


    ¡°The Otherworld?¡± I asked.


    Tathan nodded. ¡°The land of magic and the undying. And on the solstice, the fey spirits and Celtic gods could come and be amongst the people, here in the mortal world.¡±


    I held back a laugh. ¡°Aren¡¯t I a little old for fairy tales?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll have to ask the fairy.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± I was beginning to worry about Tathan. I wasn¡¯t sure where this conversation was going anymore.


    We stopped next to the rough-hewn standing stone. It was tall, rising to around my eye level. At the top of the stone was a notch cut about three inches wide. I looked at my older friend. ¡°Tathan¡­you¡¯re really starting to freak me out.¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± he replied, with an expression that looked oddly like pity. ¡°I¡¯m trying to prepare you for what is coming.¡±


    ¡°I know I¡¯m not a great listener, dude, but from the sound of things, the great magic of Midwinter ¡®morn¡¯ is going to suddenly restore my memory. There was something about some dead gods¡­ oh, and a fairy.¡± It was too early for this nonsense, and I was starting to get upset with Tathan and his cryptic riddles.


    ¡°I never said anything about dead gods.¡± Tathan turned serious. ¡°It is time for sunrise. Take your place behind the stone and watch the horizon.¡±


    I paused and then sighed loudly, wanting him to recognize my frustration. Then I walked to the uphill side of the stone and took my position.


    I placed my nose near the notch in the top of the stone and scanned the distant hillside across the River Severn. The mist that surrounded us burned away as the first rays of the sun began to crest the hill.


    A brilliant color came to us as if in slow motion. And through the notch in the old druid stone I saw the world anew.

 Book 1: Chapter 2: A Voice On The Wind

    December 21, 2014. 8:19am


    Caerwent, UK


    ¨¦riu


    The hill turned bright. My eyes burned with the light of the sun. In that moment, I lost all sense of time. I heard a deep voice, broken up as if it were calling from far away, before eventually becoming more clear.


    It was unmistakably masculine, and somehow also soft and nurturing. It was impossible to not feel completely overwhelmed and connected to it:


    ¡°I can see you, Bren, as can all that search for you.¡±


    I didn¡¯t know what to say. The words flowed into me and through me. I knew in my bones the words represented truth, even though I couldn¡¯t process their meaning:


    ¡°Boons and domains cannot be granted while you reside in ¨¦riu.¡±


    Each word slammed into my mind, nearly knocking me over. The light started to dim and I forced my eyes closed against the overwhelming sensations. Eventually, I heard a different, familiar male voice, saying my name.


    ¡°Bren! Are you okay?¡± Tathan was by my side, shaking me while he held me up. My knees felt weak and unsteady. I continued to hold onto the druid stone to better balance myself.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. What just happened?¡±


    My eyes began to refocus on the hill. It looked different. The dawn light was upon us, yet there were still shadows among the trees and stones of the hill. Between the shadows leaped familiar colors. They appeared as wisps of air and light, flitting from object to object. These colors were the remnants of the voice and light that had nearly consumed me moments before.


    ¡°Can you see that?¡± I asked Tathan, feeling a bit alarmed.


    He smiled at me and scanned the hillside where I was watching the color bound away. ¡°Aye. Those are the colors of the Otherworld. But don¡¯t worry¡­ only you and I can see them.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s actually why I¡¯m concerned.¡±


    ¡°What I mean is, anyone who has been to Annwn¡ªthe Otherworld¡ªcan see the wisps of the weave.¡±


    ¡°Still concerned!¡± Nothing he was saying seemed to make any sense to me. My heart beat faster and I could feel a cold sweat begin to dot my forehead. I pulled away from Tathan and began backing up the hill.


    Tathan put his hands up reassuringly. ¡°I brought you up here, this morning, to help you remember your past.¡±


    I continued backing away from him as he talked. Around him, the structures and vegetation on the hill began to change. As the colors passed over certain objects, they appeared to grow and move. Tathan himself looked different. His clothes were changing. They flashed between his modern hiking gear and a more rustic woolen robe.


    I rubbed my eyes. ¡°I think someone drugged me last night.¡±


    ¡°No one drugged you.¡± Tathan took a cautious step toward me. ¡°The veil between this world and the other is thin for the moment. You are seeing all of this through a lens that has no temporal rules. The weave sometimes interacts with the mortal world in very strange ways. Tell me what you see.¡±


    This man had been my caretaker for four years. He was the closest thing to a father I had in the world, but at that moment he looked completely foreign to me. So I did the only thing that I could think to do. I ran.


    Up the hill I went, sprinting past the other druid stones. The path continued going up and up toward the crest of the hill. I didn¡¯t know if Tathan was following. I couldn¡¯t hear anything except the pounding of my heart and the growing sound of a whistling wind.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Before long, I found myself gasping in huge lungfuls of air. My sprint had turned into a slow, exhausted shamble. As I slowed, I began hearing voices on the wind.


    ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± I asked, turning and looking in all directions. In my haste, I stumbled backward into a low depression. Rocks dug into my back and I could feel the frozen dew from the grass melting onto any exposed skin that touched the ground.


    I was lying at the bottom of what could only be described as a pit made from rough-hewn boulders. I struggled to my feet and looked at the long grass growing between the rocks. This must be the Iron Age hill fort that Tathan had mentioned. It was clearly a man-made depression.


    As that thought passed through my mind, the colorful light found me again and began changing the stones around me. I saw them grow and lock in place with the other stones. I saw the grass recede back down through the cracks in the rocks. I saw the rocks extend up into a roof. I bolted back up the rocks before I could be closed in. And I began running again up the hill.


    ¡°Hey, Shorty.¡± The high-pitched, female voice had a strange accent. I stopped. I knew that voice from somewhere.


    ¡°I hear you,¡± I said to the air.


    The voice said something back to me, but the words were carried away in the wind. I looked around and saw that I had reached the top of the hill. It was flat and had been deforested over time. A fierce, frozen wind blew from the west, and as nothing was hindering its path, it blew the warmth from my body.


    ¡°Bren.¡± I turned to see Tathan behind me. He was doubled over from his heavy breathing. Clearly, he had been trying to keep up with my dash up the hill.


    I took a step backward. ¡°Tathan, I¡¯m really freaking out here. You aren¡¯t really my manservant, are you?¡± I paused for a moment to catch my own breath and to let the gravity of all that had transpired sink in. ¡°What the hell is going on?¡±


    ¡°Would this be the wrong time to tell you that my name is not really Tathan?¡± Tathan chuckled uneasily at my shocked expression.


    ¡°No kidding?¡± I said, trying to hold back my utter sense of disorientation. ¡°Of all the things that have gone on this morning, that is the least of my concerns.¡±


    ¡°My real name is Morias. But I have gone by many names over the years. Tathan is actually a name I used when those Roman walls, back in town, were just newly built. Back then, they called me Tathyw, but the Roman influence stuck.¡± He shrugged. ¡°So, Tathan it became.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for that enlightening history lesson¡­ But do you really expect me to believe you¡¯re 2,000 years old?¡±


    He smiled. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m much older than that.¡±


    ¡°What is happening right now? Are we both losing our minds?¡±


    ¡°No. We are not losing our minds, but I am only able to explain some of what you need to know.¡±


    ¡°Fine.¡± And though my world had suddenly been turned upside-down, something about that moment felt inherently correct. I looked at the man before me as if for the first time, and it felt real. His gaze told me that he too felt as if a barrier had been removed.


    He sighed. ¡°First, your parents weren¡¯t killed.¡±


    ¡°Are my parents spies or something?¡± I couldn¡¯t help but interrupt. We had been building this dynamic for four years.


    ¡°This is one of those moments¡­¡± he began.


    ¡°Where I need to work on listening?¡± I said, trying to finish his thought.


    ¡°Aye.¡± He paused. ¡°I can only tell you so much. If your parents are still alive, they live in a place called Annwn, with your people.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean, my people?¡±


    ¡°Annwn is a realm of magic. Of gods and of the s¨ªdhe. Your people are the s¨ªdhe.¡±


    ¡°Wait, what?¡°


    The look on his face told me he wasn¡¯t sure how best to proceed. ¡°Walk with me to the western edge of the hill. It¡¯s only about a 5-minute walk.¡±


    We set off across the top of Wolves Hill. There were parts where the only thing I could hear was the rushing of the wind, but there were also low spots where I was certain I could also hear a high-pitched voice calling my name.


    We reached a great drop-off facing due west. In the distance, I could see the large town of Newport, where we had taken the train from London the day before. On the edge of the hill was another rough-hewn stone about the size of a water cooler.


    Morias moved around in front of me and gestured at the stone. ¡°This is ¡®L¨ªa F¨¢il,¡¯ the Stone of Destiny. It has been in my care since the dawn of your time. There is another stone with the same name in Ireland. That one is a fake, as many have guessed over the years.¡±


    I rolled my eyes. ¡°The Stone of Destiny? Seriously, dude?¡±


    ¡°Bren, please don¡¯t denigrate one of the most prized relics in either world.¡±


    ¡°Right, how silly of me. Please continue.¡±


    ¡°The Irish say that if the rightful king of Ireland puts his feet upon this stone, the stone will roar in joy.¡±


    ¡°Are you trying to say that I¡¯m the rightful king of Ireland?¡± That would be so cool, I thought.


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Then, you¡¯re losing me.¡±


    ¡°I was entrusted with the task of preparing you for this day. Today the Stone of Destiny will return to Annwn, and you will be the one to take it.¡±


    I looked down at the stone. The thing probably weighed as much as a small car. ¡°You serious, Clark?¡± I laughed. He had to be joking. ¡°I am the world¡¯s strongest man!¡± I banged my chest and proudly set my foot on the stone.


    Suddenly, there was a great crashing sound. It began like the sound of a car crash, then transformed into the roaring of a thousand lions, all in different octaves. I immediately jumped back, pulling my foot off the stone.


    Morias smiled at me. ¡°There is one other thing that you should know about the stone¡­¡± He trailed off. His attention moved back to the general area of the stone in question, and my eyes followed his.


    A voice spoke from ground level, in that same high-pitched voice I had heard on the wind. ¡°It shrinks!¡± announced the small, winged woman standing where the large stone been just a moment before. ¡°Thanks for making it easy to find you, Shorty.¡± She reached down and picked up a rock about the size of my palm and tossed it to me. It bounced gracefully off my chest and fell back to the ground as my mouth hung open.


    ¡°Bren,¡± Morias said, ¡°allow me to introduce you to F¨ªadan Ellyllon.¡±

 Book 1: Chapter 3: The Winter Hag

    December 21, 2014. 8:36am


    Caerwent, UK


    ¨¦riu


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with his voice?¡± were the next words out of the small woman¡¯s mouth.


    Morias let out a hearty chuckle. ¡°He has an American accent.¡±


    ¡°It sounds weird.¡± She looked at me out of the corner of her eye.


    ¡°Uh¡­¡± I muttered before she cut me off again.


    ¡°Don¡¯t talk, it hurts my head.¡±


    ¡°Tell me about it,¡± Morias said as he jabbed me softly in the ribs.


    I just stood there, my mouth still wide open. She was about 3 feet tall with short dark hair. She had pointed ears that were nearly long enough to reach the top of her head. And her eyes were larger than mine, made up almost entirely of iris. It was as if her irises were made of green and yellow flecks of glitter, all swirling around and covering the pupils in a halo of color.


    ¡°You act like you ain¡¯t never seen a fairy before, kid.¡± The tiny woman smirked as she looked me up and down. ¡°And you dropped your rock.¡±


    Morias grunted as he leaned over to pick up the stone. He held it out to me. When I didn¡¯t reach to take it, he lifted my hand and placed the stone in my palm. ¡°F¨ªadan Ellyllon,¡± he repeated her name more slowly this time, holding my gaze.


    The woman peered at me. ¡°Did I break him?¡±


    ¡°Bren has no memory of you. He has no memory of the night he was brought to ¨¦riu. He has no memory of Annwn.¡±


    ¡°What does he remember?¡±


    Morias looked at me again. ¡°He remembers everything in ¨¦riu. I was hoping the sunrise would bring back some of those first memories in Annwn.¡±


    The Fairy stared at me and rose to hover in the air. She came close, and I could see into her prismatic eyes. They were hypnotizing. A long moment passed without any sound save for the wind on the barren hillside. Her hand whipped up to slap me.


    ¡°Hey!¡± I said, taking a step away from her. ¡°What was that for?¡±


    ¡°You got to wake up now, chief. Playtime¡¯s over.¡±


    Morias shook his head. ¡°F¨ª, I don¡¯t think that will help.¡±


    She put her hands on her hips. ¡°Well, how do you propose we jog his memory?¡±


    ¡°We must take Bren home, as HE would have wanted. Perhaps that will rekindle some of those early memories.¡±


    F¨ªadan froze, then squinted toward the sky.


    ¡°What is it?¡± I asked.


    She waved at me to be quiet. ¡°Quiet kid. You hear that, Morias?¡±


    They both listened to the howling of the wind for a moment, and then I heard it, too. From back the way we had come, down toward the bottom of the hill, came the distant sound of thunder.


    ¡°Ahhhhhh, great!¡± F¨ªadan grumbled. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect them to find him that fast.¡±


    A chill visibly went through Morias and a look of understanding spread across the large man¡¯s face. ¡°I see on my cloak the stains of age... For I am cold indeed.¡± His words had taken on a sing-song tone, as if he was reciting a song or a poem.


    F¨ªadan looked toward the source of the thunder and picked up where. Morias had left off. ¡°The Stone of the Kings... long since storms reached their cheeks¡­¡±


    The three of us stood there, in the gray hours of the morning, with the cliff¡¯s edge at our back, for another moment. It was then that I saw her. Coming toward us, against the wind, floated an ugly woman the size of a parade float. She had wrinkled blue skin and dirty white hair, and in her right hand, she held a massive hammer.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    ¡°Now I drink among shriveled old hags¡­¡± F¨ªadan¡¯s voice trailed off as the corner of her lips drew up in a sly, wicked smile. She had blades in her hands suddenly, a long blade from her back and a short one from her hip.


    ¡°What the hell is that thing?¡± I looked to Morias for reassurance.


    ¡°Cailleach Bh¨¦ara,¡± he said softly.


    ¡°English please!¡±


    ¡°Hag of Beara, numb nuts!¡± F¨ªadan yelled without looking at me.


    ¡°The spirit of winter itself,¡± Morias said helpfully.


    ¡°Is she¡­ uh¡­ dangerous?¡± I wasn¡¯t entirely sure what I was even asking. Morias and F¨ªadan both turned to look at me like I was stupid.


    ¡°Everything that comes across the veil is dangerous for this world.¡± I watched as F¨ªadan¡¯s muscles tensed like she was about to spring forward.


    ¡°Wait,¡± Morias placed a gentle hand on the small woman¡¯s shoulder. ¡°There is another way.¡±


    ¡°Nah¡­¡± she replied with an expression of resignation. ¡°I don¡¯t think there is.¡±


    Morias held her gaze and gestured at me. ¡°Bren has the stone.¡±


    F¨ªadan¡¯s eyes flashed to the stone in my hands for a brief second and then back up to me. ¡°Do you know how to use that, kid?¡±


    A cackle of high-pitched laughter rose over the sound of the wind. The thunderclaps had turned into a general rolling rumble, growing louder as the hag approached.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just jump. You can fly and I probably won¡¯t die¡­¡± My eyes landed on my overweight caretaker. ¡°Oh¡­¡±


    ¡°Bren!¡± Morias shouted over the rising wind and thunder. ¡°The Stone¡­has it spoken to you?¡±


    ¡°What? No. What are you talking about?¡± I looked at the rock in my hand.


    F¨ªadan shook her head and bounded forward, blades flashing in the early morning light.


    The hag, also flying, charged forward, and the two met in the air over the frosty ground. F¨ªadan was fast, but the large form of the hag seemed to possess a preternatural agility. Her form accelerated, twisting in a parry with the hammer. F¨ªadan¡¯s blades struck the head and sparks fanned out across the hillside.


    I don¡¯t know how to describe the feelings that overtook my body. I had never, as far as I could remember, felt this way before. The scene in front of me was literally out of this world. It was like watching a car accident or experiencing a natural disaster. It was happening, but it felt unreal.


    I turned to Morias. ¡°What do we do?¡±


    ¡°We should get you back down the hill to the standing stones.¡±


    ¡°What about F¨ª?¡± I asked, choosing to use the shorter name I had heard Morias use.


    ¡°She is doing her duty.¡± He began to move around the fighting pair. ¡°Come!¡±


    I followed, but kept a close eye on the combat, not knowing whether I was doing the right thing. The two continued to swing at each other, both unable to connect a blow. As we made our way past them, back the way we had come, I saw the cloak of the hag wrap itself around F¨ªadan.


    ¡°Wait!¡± I called to Morias, who was moving faster than I had ever seen him move. He didn¡¯t hear me over the cacophony of sounds around us.


    I¡¯m not sure why I did what I did next. I wasn¡¯t thinking any brave thoughts. I don¡¯t even recall feeling a particularly close connection to the fairy who was attempting to protect us. But before I knew how or why, my feet were taking me away from Morias, back toward F¨ªadan.


    ¡°What are you doing, you idiot?¡± I heard F¨ª shout as the cloak of the hag twisted itself tighter around her body. Her weapons fell to the ground.


    The hag cackled loudly as she held F¨ªadan aloft. She raised her hammer high. The crushing blow was about to strike the fairy, and I knew that I had to do something fast. Without anything else in my proverbial tool belt, I threw the only weapon I had at the hag, the stone.


    I realize that this was arguably the worst thing I could have done. After all, F¨ªadan had engaged the hag to save us, and instead of running away, I had gone back to battle the very spirit of winter. I had no weapons, and I decided to throw an actual relic to the ¡°bad guy.¡± All bad decisions. I¡¯m willing to admit that now.


    That is why when the rock expanded to its full size and slammed the hag to the ground, I paused to consider my next actions.


    ¡°That worked pretty well.¡° I watched the hag wail beneath the weight of the large stone. And though it was heavier than anything I could ever lift, the hag was still somehow sliding the stone off her body. She would be free soon.


    F¨ª was at my side before I even realized she was free. She had recovered her blades and was looking at me with a mixture of gratitude and extreme shock. The look passed quickly.


    She scowled. ¡°What is wrong with you?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ you¡¯re welcome,¡± I said, confused.


    ¡°You and that stone are worth more than the life of an Ellyllon. Get out of here!¡±


    ¡°Look out!¡± I pushed us both out of the way of a clawed hand the size of a small SUV.


    F¨ªadan readied her blades again just as the hag pushed the stone fully off her undulating form and rose to her full height. She raised her massive hammer above us.


    F¨ª grabbed my arm, pushing me behind her. ¡°Stay behind me.¡±


    ¡°What good is that? You¡¯re three feet tall!¡± And for the first time, I heard F¨ª laugh. She smiled and braced for the hammer strike.


    I instinctively raised my hands to ward off the blow, and to my surprise, the palm-sized stone flew back into my hand. Just as the hammer connected with us, the stone expanded its form into what can only be described as ¡°shield-shaped.¡±


    The hag flew backward as if being propelled by an explosion. The blow knocked F¨ª and me to the ground as well, but except for numbing my right arm, we were mostly unharmed. The same could not be said for the Stone of Destiny. The shield had changed back into a palm-sized rock, only now it lay before us in two broken pieces.


    ¡°What have you done?¡± F¨ªadan looked horrified. ¡°Get the stones and go!¡±


    I didn¡¯t argue. I grabbed the broken pieces of the stone and ran as fast as I could. I didn¡¯t look back. F¨ª led me to Morias, who was standing at the highest standing stone upon the hill.


    The swirling colors were back, and again, they were changing the landscape around me. I knew, based on what Morias had said, that I was seeing the hill throughout the decades and centuries. The color was giving me a glimpse of the past.


    ¡°Touch the stone,¡± Morias said. I did as I was told, and he nodded to F¨ªadan.


    She nodded back, then turned to me. ¡°Get ready, kid. You think things are weird now¡­just wait!¡±


    And with that, the colors flooded my senses, and the world I was used to faded from my vision.

 Book 1: Chapter 4: Out For A Swim

    Day 1 of Midwinter, Sunrise


    Leaving ¨¦riu


    Entering Annwn


    There was a voice before there was a world. I had heard this voice before. It was the calm male voice from the sunrise of midwinter morning:


    ¡°The realm of Annwn welcomes you home, Bren.


    You have been gifted no boon.


    One relic is in your possession.


    You have acquired:


    The Stone of Destiny


    Relic abilities unlocked:


    Shrink/Enlarge- Stone of Destiny


    Return to Sender- Stone of Destiny


    Attention: Relic damage assessed


    Effects unknown¡±


    ¡°Who are you?¡± I asked, still in the darkness of the in-between. There was no response, just silence and void. Then, I had an idea. Taking on a British accent, I said, ¡°Computer! Tea, Earl Grey, hot.¡± Still silence. Oh well, it was worth a try. It made as much sense as anything else this morning.


    There was no indication, anywhere, that I was still on Earth. In fact, there was nothing here at all. I floated in a vast nothingness, with not even an air current or temperature of note.


    A swirling light started to slowly sweep back into my peripheral view. I became aware that the colors were beginning to organize themselves into patterns. A world began to form before my eyes. Objects and shapes came into being from those random color swirls.


    Gravity returned and I found myself suddenly taking in a mouthful of water. There was splashing all around me. I coughed, underwater, and kicked hard to the surface.


    When at last I could feel air, I found myself in the middle of a large body of water, surrounded by a completely foreign world. The landscape itself appeared to use a different visible light spectrum. The sky was a light purple hue. The clouds moved and changed shapes as if they had lives of their own.


    My eyes scanned the water around me. I saw another person kick to the surface. Morias! I could see F¨ª fluttering above the water a few feet away. She gave us both an exasperated look. ¡°Come on, ya wet noodles! We need to get you both out of this pool.¡±


    I looked back at Morias to see if he was staying afloat, and it appeared he was at no risk of drowning. Most of his attention seemed to be focused behind us. I followed his gaze to a huge smoking mountain in the distance.


    ¡°Are we where I think we are?¡± he sputtered as he swam.


    ¡°You mean, are you swimming in the Heart-shaped Pool?¡± she asked with a gleam in her eye.


    ¡°Aye.¡± If I didn¡¯t have so much water in my ears, I could have sworn I heard panic in his voice.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    But I let that little bit of unknown go for the moment. There was so much already that I didn¡¯t understand. F¨ªadan could have just as easily said that we were swimming in a dinosaur¡¯s nostril. At this point, none of what I was hearing or experiencing made any sense to me.


    ¡°Yea¡­ For some reason the stone sent us here instead of Flamebright.¡±


    Morias and I continued to swim away from the volcano and after a few minutes, we made our way onto a manicured shoreline. There appeared to be a pristine white marble curb running completely around this Heart-shaped Pool (whatever that was).


    The edge of the water was very shallow. It reminded me of a kiddie pool that stretched for the length of a football field. We stumbled through the ankle-deep water and up onto the shore.


    Before me stretched a verdant landscape that I had only seen in doctored Musical.ly videos. This place was green beyond belief, with the most beautiful trees I had ever seen. The blossoms and fruit were in every color in the rainbow, and maybe even a few that weren¡¯t.


    The landscape felt foreign to me for a few reasons. First, the temperature here was not middle-of-December freezing. The air temperature felt like it was in the mid-70s, and I immediately began to strip off the saturated winter coat that was weighing me down.


    The second reason that this new realm seemed foreign to me was because of the sheer number of what appeared to be fairies littering the grassy knolls between trees. They stared at us. Some looked shocked to see us, while others looked angry.


    F¨ªadan immediately flew up to a group of them and began a heated conversation. I couldn¡¯t hear exactly what they were saying, but there were a lot of angry faces and a lot of fingers pointing in our direction. I turned to help Morias out of his own winter coat.


    ¡°Why do those¡­¡± I paused, not believing what I was about to say. ¡°¡­fairies look so upset?¡±


    He glanced at the crowds along the shoreline. ¡°The Heart-shaped Pool is the most sacred body of water to the Tuatha. It looks as though the Ellyllon are now patrolling the Pool, for some reason.¡±


    ¡°Okay, Tathan¡­err¡­ Morias¡­ you need to tell me what¡¯s going on here¡­ Start at the beginning.¡±


    ¡°The beginning would take too long. But you are right, there are things you need to know, and I can tell you some of them. But I have been away too long to tell you other parts of the tale.¡±


    I stared at the lush landscape. ¡°What is this place? I heard a voice in my head call it ¡®Annwn¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Ah yes, that would be The Dagda. He was welcoming you home, I suspect. Annwn is where we are. Remember the stories I told you of T¨ªr na n¨®g?¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Yes, of course, but those were just stories.¡±


    ¡°Well, you are here now, my friend. You are in the Otherworld, the Land of Eternal Youth.¡±


    I let out a deep breath, and looked around again. In the distance, I could see the head of a man sticking up above the trees. He was walking away from us.


    I gasped. ¡°What is that?¡±


    ¡°What do you think it is?¡±


    ¡°It looks like a freaking giant,¡± I blurted.


    ¡°Aye, it is. There are many giants living in close proximity to Mag Mell. Thankfully that isn¡¯t a fachan or a trow. ¡®Giant¡¯ is an accurate term in this case.¡± He paused and seemed to spot something that interested him. ¡°But it isn¡¯t the giant we should be concerned with at the moment.¡±


    ¡°What should we be concerned with then?¡± How could he not be worried about a giant?


    ¡°The changeling.¡± Morias pointed to a man walking toward us.


    The man appeared to be human, save for a slight point to his ears. He had an auburn-colored, well-manicured beard that rose slightly as he smiled in our directions. The fairies stopped arguing and turned to him as he approached.


    ¡°Can it be?¡± The man¡¯s eyes went wide in shock. He grasped Morias by the shoulders. ¡°Morias ¨® Falias? I would recognize you after ten thousand cycles of the moon.¡± He smiled widely and embraced Morias.


    ¡°I would hope so, Tadg. As it has been closer to twenty thousand cycles,¡± Morias said, hugging the man back.


    ¡°And in that time have you forgotten that swimming in the Heart-shaped Pool is frowned upon?¡± Tadg raised an eyebrow.


    Morias looked embarrassed. ¡°Gorias was our destination. I don¡¯t know what happened.¡±


    ¡°Very strange indeed,¡± the man said, letting go of Morias. He turned to me. ¡°And who have you brought with you?¡±


    ¡°Forgive me. Yes, introductions are in order.¡± Morias looked over to F¨ª, who wrinkled her brow at him. ¡°Tadg mac Nuadat, this young man saved us from the Cailleach Bh¨¦ara. I couldn¡¯t very well leave him behind.¡±


    ¡°Certainly not.¡± Tadg sounded horrified at the thought. ¡°And does this young man have a name?¡±


    Morias glanced at me and gave a very slight shake of his head. Before I could speak, he said, ¡°I believe he said his name was Bren, but I can¡¯t recall.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± I wasn¡¯t sure what exactly was going on between Morias and Tadg, but I knew when to follow someone else¡¯s lead. ¡°Bren Callahan.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ Bren Callahan.¡± The man¡¯s tone became formal, ¡°We are in your debt for bringing the famed scholar of Falias back to us, unharmed.¡± He took my hand, and shook it firmly, then turned back to Morias. ¡°Father will be thrilled that you are¡­ alive and well.¡±


    Morias inclined his head. ¡°Tadg, I am very excited to be home and talking with old friends, but we are wet and tired. May we get dried off and sit for a bit before we continue?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± Tadg bowed his own head slightly. ¡°I will speak with the Ellyllon and smooth over your recent¡­ aquatic recreational activities.¡± He turned and walked away.


    Fi and Tadg nodded at one another as they passed. Tadg began gesturing to the other fairies in a pacifying manner, while F¨ª just muttered under her breath, ¡°Little time, chuckleheads, and LOTS to talk about.¡±

 Book 1: Chapter 5: Treatise Of Tedium

    Day 1 of Midwinter, Sunrise


    Heart-shaped Pool, Midlands


    Annwn


    There were no buildings visible from the edge of the Heart-shaped Pool. There were only the tents of the Ellyllon fairies. We were shown to a larger tent that had several fineries to help us dry off and get warm.


    Morias made tea, while F¨ª sat nearby, polishing her blades. Now that I could see them up close, I saw how unique the blades were (not that I was an expert on swords).


    The matching set of blades included a dagger and short sword. Both were made of a gleaming white metal. There was no leather or wood on either blade, and there appeared to be no joints, no hammer marks, nothing to suggest anything other than the blades were each one piece of metal. Even the delicate lines of decorative curves and indentations appeared to have been intentionally extruded from the metal itself, thus reinforcing the idea that each sword was only a single piece of metal.


    ¡°Pretty, ain¡¯t they?¡± F¨ªadan said when she saw me looking at them. ¡°I call the big one ¡®Swish¡¯ and the little one ¡®Stick.¡¯¡±


    ¡°Very practical.¡± Even though I¡¯d only know her a few hours, I wasn¡¯t surprised that F¨ª would use onomatopoeia as the basis of her naming convention. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen anything like them.¡±


    Morias chuckled. ¡°I¡¯d suspect not. These were a gift from Goibhniu, the Smith. He made these blades from Duinnite ore, for the personal guard of the former High King.¡±


    ¡°What are they made of?¡± I found myself marveling again at the blades.


    ¡°It is called Silverwhite,¡° Morias replied. ¡°Weapons and armor made of it are grown with magic, not shaped by the fire of a forge. But it never blunts and never breaks.¡±


    ¡°A lot of good they did us.¡± F¨ªadan paused to look at me for a moment before continuing. Her eyes were large and sad. ¡°These are the only Silverwhite blades left from the set.¡±


    ¡°Items made of Silverwhite can only have one wielder.¡± Morias paused, his eyes flicking to where F¨ª continued polishing the blades. ¡°When the wielder perishes, so does the item.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m very sorry,¡± I said, realizing what that meant about the fate of the other guards.


    F¨ªadan squirmed uncomfortably. ¡°It was a long time ago.¡±


    Morias gave F¨ª a soft, knowing smile and took the kettle off the fire. He beckoned to both of us. ¡°Come¡­ let us have tea and speak together. Tadg will return soon.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s probably fine,¡± F¨ª said. ¡°But with all the stuff lately, I just don¡¯t know¡­ ¡±


    Morias finished pouring the boiling water and brought us two steaming mugs of tea. He handed the first to me. ¡°Burbling berry. If you listen to the leaves steeping, they say you will remember a long forgotten memory.¡±


    F¨ª snickered. ¡°You haven¡¯t changed a bit, Morias. We could be here the next four hours and you¡¯d still be talking about your favorite moon flower or a book written by some long-dead monk.¡±


    ¡°How should we begin?¡± Morias asked, his voice sharp.


    She shrugged, unrepentant. ¡°You¡¯re the sage.¡±


    The big man¡¯s chest rose and fell in a silent chuckle, as he thought about how to start his tale. ¡°There are two realms: ¨¦riu and Annwn. ¨¦riu is a nonmagical realm, named for its patron goddess. You call it Earth. Annwn is where we are now. It is the realm of magic.¡±


    I sat still, holding the warm cup and breathing in the steam. I could hear a murmuring noise from inside the cup. As I listened, a memory came to my mind. It was of an old video that I had watched late one night. Some old YouTube professor had spoken about how fantasy novels always had a chapter he referred to as the ¡°Treatise of Tedium.¡± It was the point in a fantasy or science fiction novel where the author would stop the story (and the action) and drop all of the important information about the world and the magic or technology system on the reader. If my life were a fantasy novel, this would be that chapter.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    Morias droned on, even though he could probably tell I was lost in my own thoughts. ¡°The sentient beings in Annwn are called the Sidhe.¡±


    F¨ª spoke up suddenly. ¡°It means, ¡®People of the Mounds.¡¯¡± She looked very pleased with herself.


    ¡°Yes, there are a few categories of individuals making up the Sidhe. They are the Tuatha D¨¦ Danann, the Fomorians, the changelings, and the Fae.¡±


    ¡°The Fae are the fairy folk,¡± F¨ªadan blurted. ¡°That¡¯s me.¡± She was brimming with pride.


    Morias nodded. ¡°Yes, though the Fae is a discussion better suited for another tea time. It is a fairly complicated topic.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard you mention the Tuatha before.¡± I was starting to feel like I might one day understand the new world I found myself in.


    ¡°The Tuatha D¨¦ Danann are the sons and daughters of Danu and Donn. The Greater gods of Life and Death respectively. They are immortal. They cannot¡­¡±


    F¨ªadan interrupted again. ¡°Tell him about the rules. Those are important.¡±


    ¡°Ah yes,¡± Morias agreed, ¡°those are very important indeed.¡±


    ¡°Rules?¡± I asked, looking back at F¨ª in confusion.


    She met my eyes. ¡°Kinda.¡±


    Morias very grandly repeated what I could only imagine was a mantra of sorts for him and others in this world:


    ¡°Annwn is the source of all magic.


    Nothing ages in Annwn.


    Gods never die.¡±


    He returned to his normal voice. ¡°They aren¡¯t rules so much as they are just factual statements. If you can embrace these three laws of nature, you will have a firm foundation into the makeup of this world.¡±


    ¡°Magic comes from here, the Land of Eternal Youth. And don¡¯t mess with the Tuatha. Got it.¡± I really did think I had a basic understanding of the world.


    ¡°That ain¡¯t half bad.¡° F¨ª looked mildly impressed.


    ¡°But, there is something I don¡¯t understand¡­¡± I looked directly at Morias. ¡°If you left this world so many years ago, how did you not grow old? ¡®Nothing ages in Annwn.¡¯ Things still age on Earth.¡±


    ¡°¨¦riu,¡± F¨ª corrected.


    ¡°Right, things still age in ¨¦riu.¡±


    Morias slapped my arm, causing my tea spill all over the place. ¡°You ARE listening. Will miracles never cease!¡±


    ¡°I listen when things are interesting,¡± I muttered.


    ¡°Even so, you must let this old man have at least one secret.¡± Morias eyes twinkled with a mischievous light.


    ¡°Fair enough,¡± I said. ¡°But tell me this¡­before we fought the hag, you told me that I was brought to Earth¡­¡±


    ¡°¨¦riu,¡± F¨ª corrected again.


    ¡°¨¦riu,¡± I repeated¡­again. ¡°Does that mean I was born here?¡±


    Morias turned to F¨ª. ¡°I think you better take it from here, my dear F¨ªadan.¡±


    ¡°Four years ago,¡± she began, ¡°there was something we call the Long Night.¡±


    ¡°Also called the Cold Moon,¡± Morias interjected helpfully. ¡°It is when the full moon in your world falls on the winter solstice. It is a fairly rare astronomical occurrence, one that creates a fertile environment for magical anomalies.¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s telling this story?¡± She turned to Morias with mock outrage (or possibly actual outrage¡ªit was hard to tell with her). ¡°Anyway¡­you and one other guy came splashing outta this pool here about four years ago, on the night of the Cold Moon.¡±


    ¡°The Heart-shaped Pool?¡± I asked.


    Morias nodded. ¡°The Pool is often associated with Goddess Danu, and throughout history has been the site of many significant events: a severely wounded God being reborn, the spontaneous emergence of a new Fae species, and an occasionally significant crossover from ¨¦riu¡±


    ¡°Yep,¡± F¨ª said. ¡°That¡¯s how the king of the Fomorians came here.¡±


    ¡°King Neit,¡± Morias began, but F¨ª glared at him, and he quieted.


    ¡°The Dagda¡­¡± she began and held up a hand before Morias could interject again. ¡°The magic god sent me to get you out of the Pool before anyone else could find you.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± I asked.


    ¡°He said that whatever was coming was significant.¡± F¨ª paused as if remembering. ¡°He told me that my honor lie in protecting what came out of the water. So I took you as far from our realm as I could.¡±


    ¡°What about the other guy in the Pool?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know there would be two of you!¡± Emotion flashed across her face. ¡°Cai wasn¡¯t even there when you came out of the water.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, F¨ªadan,¡± Morias said in a soothing tone. ¡°Tell us what happened to this Cai.¡± I was surprised to realize Morias didn¡¯t have all the information either.


    ¡°I heard about it when I came back from ¨¦riu,¡± she said. ¡°The Fomorians found him in the water after I left with you. They call him Cai Macc¨¢n. Many believe he will bring change for their people.¡±


    Morias looked thoughtful. ¡°The Fomorians have always been at odds with High King Nuada and the Tuatha. But that, too, is a story for yet another tea time.¡±


    ¡°I think I¡¯m beginning to understand why the Heart-shaped Pool now has guards,¡± I said.


    F¨ª nodded. ¡°Yep. Ever since the night of the Cold Moon, Nuada has kept a close eye on the Mag Mell.¡±


    ¡°On what?¡± I asked.


    ¡°The Plain of Delight,¡± Morias replied. ¡°Also called the Midlands.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s ¡®cause it is right in the middle of the continent,¡± F¨ª offered. ¡°It¡¯s MID island.¡±


    A grinding sound came from outside the tent. It sounded like metal armor scraping against itself. There was also the sound of commands being given, and resulting footfalls on soft ground. The footfalls sounded like they were getting closer.


    ¡°Speak of them, and they shall come.¡± Morias nodded to the tent entrance. ¡°By now Tadg will have had a chance to speak with his father.¡± Morias stood and smoothed out his clothes. ¡°Let us see what the politicos have in store for us.¡±

 Book 1: Chapter 6: Small But Mighty

    Day 1 of Midwinter, Midday


    Heart-shaped Pool, Midlands


    Annwn


    ¡°My friends,¡± Tadg said as he entered the tent. Outside, I could see a handful of Ellyllon soldiers flanked by larger men in armor. ¡°I am pleased to report that you have been cleared to stay with us here in Mag Mell for as long as you would like.¡±


    ¡°Is that an invitation or a summons?¡± F¨ª took a step closer to Tadg.


    ¡°You are very gracious,¡± Morias interjected. ¡°What F¨ªadan is trying to say is that we must make our way south. We have an appointment in Flamebright that we must keep.¡±


    ¡°What my most illustrious sage doesn¡¯t know from his time away is that these lands have become much more dangerous to traverse in recent years.¡± Tadg sat near Morias, keeping his hands plainly visible. ¡°The Midlands are overrun by Fae with¡­questionable allegiances.¡±


    ¡°Indeed.¡± Morias motioned to F¨ªadan and I. ¡°But as you can see, I have come with my own escort.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Tadg slapped his knees. ¡°I am most interested to hear the story of how the human, Bren Callahan, rescued you from the Cailleach Bh¨¦ara.¡±


    I could see F¨ª flinch at the sound of Tadg¡¯s hand striking his knee. Studying her more closely, I saw her breathing had quickened. I started to stand up to go sit near her, but her eyes flicked my direction with an unspoken command to stay.


    ¡°It is quite the tale,¡± Morias said.


    ¡°What I¡¯m most interested in hearing is how the three of you came to encounter the Old Woman of Winter in the first place.¡±


    ¡°Hag,¡± F¨ª corrected.


    ¡°As you say.¡± Tadg nodded to her. ¡°I wonder what the Hag of Winter wanted with the three of you.¡±


    Morias sighed slightly and gave a faint smile. ¡°I remember when your father first brought you to Annwn. Do you remember the day we first met?¡±


    Tadg¡¯s demeanor softened a bit at that. ¡°I do. You were very kind to me.¡±


    ¡°Aye,¡± Morias¡¯s voice was soft. He placed his hand on top of Tadg¡¯s hand. ¡°Your father brought all his boys to me for a tour of the capital on their first day.¡±


    ¡°That was the day I got lost in the marketplace.¡± Tadg laughed as he recalled the story. ¡°I found you two hours later sitting on the fountain of Uncle Lir.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you didn¡¯t get lost, my boy,¡± Morias said. ¡°I simply gave you a chance to explore the marketplace on your own.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t!¡± Tadg¡¯s face broke into a genuine grin.


    ¡°I did indeed. And¡­truth be told, it wasn¡¯t every day I could enjoy purveyors¡¯ sweet treats and the ales of the marketplace.¡±


    Tadg and Morias continued reminiscing about old memories for the next few minutes. F¨ª and I just sat there listening, not sure of our roles in this conversation. It was Morias¡¯ tone that brought me back into the conversation.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ¡°Your older brothers are different than you, Tadg. Caicher was always so self assured. He never doubted his first instinct, even when it was wrong. Ethadon, on the other hand, always took the world exactly as your father defined it.¡±


    Tadg gave a slight nod. ¡°We are different people, indeed.¡±


    ¡°You have always needed the space to figure things out on your own,¡± Morias continued.


    ¡°I see your meaning, sage.¡± Tadg pulled away from Morias and stood. ¡°But I have changed. Father thinks you are keeping secrets. He wants me to keep you here until the truth is discovered.¡±


    ¡°And what if I don¡¯t let you keep us here?¡± F¨ª said, unable to stay silent any longer.


    ¡°My respect to you for your past victories, fair Ellyllon, but you are outmatched and outnumbered.¡± Tadg looked uncomfortable. He was clearly unhappy about having to threaten us.


    ¡°I like my odds.¡± F¨ª looked down meaningfully at Stick.


    Tadg looked to Morias, who still sat with a calm look on his face. ¡°I will give you two options, for an old friend. Either we do as my father wishes, or you must allow me to accompany you on your trek to Gorias.¡±


    F¨ª looked mortally offended. ¡°You ain¡¯t the boss of me, kid. How about I give YOU two options?¡±


    Morias shot her an exasperated look. ¡°F¨ªadan, please.¡±


    F¨ª glared at Tadg. ¡°Either you take that pretty face of yours out of this tent and pretend you never saw us, or¡­¡± She paused for effect.


    ¡°Or?¡± Tadg straightened up to his full height, towering over the fairy.


    ¡°Stop!¡± I lurched to my feet to stand between Tadg and F¨ªadan. ¡°I don¡¯t want to see anyone get hurt because of me.¡± I dug in my still-damp pockets. ¡°They¡¯ve both said that you are a good man, so I¡¯m going to trust their judgement.¡± I produced one half of the Stone of Destiny and held it out to Tadg.


    ¡°Is this¡­¡± he said in wonder, reaching for the stone.


    ¡°The Stone of Destiny,¡± I replied. ¡°I don¡¯t know why it came to me, but I think THIS is why that hag was after us.¡±


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Fi hissed.


    ¡°Trust me,¡± I said as Tadg took the stone from my hand.


    Tadg turned the stone over in his hands. ¡°It is not at all like I pictured.¡±


    ¡°Be careful,¡± I cautioned. ¡°It has a tendency to change shape at odd times.¡±


    Morias pointed at the stone in Tadg¡¯s hands. ¡°This is where I have been all of those hundreds of years. Keeping the Stone safe.¡±


    Tadg looked up, startled. ¡°From who? Father has been looking for this Treasure longer than you have been missing!¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± Morias held Tadg¡¯s eyes with his own.


    ¡°Father will see this as a betrayal,¡± Tadg warned. ¡°He isn¡¯t a bad man.¡±


    Morias inclined his hand in agreement. ¡°I agree with you. And yet, do your instincts not tell you that something is afoot?¡±


    Tadg suddenly looked troubled. ¡°Is that the reason you left?¡±


    ¡°My counterparts in the other cities were killed, Tadg. How much longer would I have lived, had I stayed?¡±


    Tadg nodded. ¡°And now you are back?¡±


    ¡°I was sent for.¡± Morias motioned to F¨ªadan.


    There was a crash from outside of the tent. Tadg¡¯s eyes flicked to the tent opening. ¡°What was that?¡± he yelled to the guards outside.


    ¡°Not sure, sir,¡± came a voice.


    ¡°Find out and report back.¡± Tadg turned his attention back to us. ¡°Is the Dagda a part of this conspiracy? I assume that is why you are traveling to Gorias?¡±


    ¡°There is no conspiracy, my boy.¡± Morias kept his voice level and shook his head sadly. ¡°The Dagda has always kept his own council. You know this.¡±


    There came another crash from outside of the tent. But this time it was followed by a scream and yelling. The body of a man with a caved-in chest plate tumbled into the tent He groaned and coughed a spatter of blood before going still.


    ¡°We are under attack!¡± came a shout from outside the tent.


    Tadg came close to Morias and placed a hand on the older man¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Stay here, please¡­ Stay safe.¡± He turned and ran from the tent.


    ¡°Well¡­ that¡¯s our cue!¡± I announced. ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here.¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t leave now, you idiot.¡± F¨ª looked at me like I was an idiot. ¡°You gave the farthing relic to Captain Conflicted out there.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve got a plan.¡±


    ¡°Does your plan involve giving anything else away?¡± Her voice dripped with sarcasm.


    ¡°Enough, F¨ªadan,¡± Morias interjected. ¡°Bren is right. We need to get out of here.¡±


    F¨ªadan¡¯s face showed her conflicted emotions. ¡°My task was to get you both to Gorias. I¡¯ll come back for the Stone.¡± She stood, pulling her blades, her face grim. ¡°Stay behind me. The girls and I are gonna make it rain red.¡±

 Book 1: Chapter 7: Evil Eyes

    Day 1 of Midwinter, Midday


    Heart-shaped Pool, Midlands


    Annwn


    When F¨ª opened the tent flap, we saw a scene of complete and utter chaos. Fire raged across the long green grasses. Bodies were strewn in various states of crushed or dismembered carnage.


    ¡°This is bad,¡± I heard F¨ª say as we stepped fully out of the tent. Enormous men and women in leather armor were throwing rocks and trampling the Ellyllon and changeling soldiers.


    I turned to Morias in shock. ¡°I thought you said we didn¡¯t have to concern ourselves with giants!¡±


    ¡°Shut up, kid,¡± F¨ª said from in front of me. ¡°Unless you¡¯re TRYING to draw the wrong kind of attention?¡±


    Morias gripped the back of my shirt as we moved away from the Heart-shaped Pool. He spoke softly, so that only I could hear him. ¡°These aren¡¯t giants.¡±


    ¡°They sure as hell look like giants,¡± I whispered back to him. I motioned to my left where an enormous woman was knocking over a small tree, which she then began using as a massive club.


    Morias moved closer to me, so close in fact, that if I stopped or slowed down in any way he would have stepped on my heels. ¡°Fomorians.¡± His tone worried me almost as much as the wanton death and destruction surrounding us.


    My head snapped back around when F¨ª spoke. ¡°There¡¯s fire.¡± She sidestepped a small explosion. ¡°That means HE is here.¡±


    Across the battlefield, I could see Tadg¡¯s men rushing to rally points, only to be overrun by the sheer size of the attacking brutes. The Ellyllon fairies fared only a little better. Though their speed was too much for any Fomorian, it still took two or three fairies to take down a single one of the huge warriors.


    I found myself pondering the Ellyllon as we slunk along the edges of the battle. Were they a race or culture amongst fairy-kind, or was it a title of sorts? Perhaps both? I knew that F¨ªadan used Ellyllon as a surname. The nuances of this race I hadn¡¯t known existed until a few hours before were lost on me. Then, I remembered surviving was probably more important than etymology at the moment.


    I focused back in front of me, onto the figure of F¨ª, who was a twirling twister of sharp bits. She seemed to know exactly when to move and exactly when to stay. She attacked with no fear and no hesitation. Her blades cut through leather, metal, flesh, and bone.


    From fingertips to elbows, she was a palette of brick red and deep crimson. The color splattered across her body, even in her hair and mouth. I was in shock. Never in my life had I seen so much violence and death, and in that moment, I froze, unable to keep going.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Morias said as he bumped into my back. I looked down at my unmoving feet.


    Morias seemed to realize what was happening. ¡°I know what you must be feeling. But we must keep moving.¡±


    I could feel a throbbing in my temples, and my face felt numb. ¡°I think someone cast a spell on me or something,¡± I mumbled, slowly doubling over.


    I felt a hand on my back. ¡°Bren, you are having a panic attack. You need to breathe.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ I can¡¯t seem to do that very well right now,¡± I gasped.


    From in front of me, I heard a now-familiar scream, then the sound of a small body hitting the ground. I looked up to see F¨ª lying a short distance in front of me, unmoving. Looming over her was a Fomorian warrior brandishing a bone club. On the ground nearby were two dead Fomorians riddled with gashes that had to be from Swish and Stick. It appeared that while F¨ª fought off two of the warriors, she had failed to strike down the last of the trio.


    The surviving Fomorian didn¡¯t wait for F¨ª to stir. He raised his makeshift club. I felt the world. My feet seemed to come alive, and I found myself sprinting away from Morias, toward the body of F¨ª.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    I had no plan, mind you, but on a Mario Kart replay, I like to think I would have looked seriously badass. On the inside, however, I was thinking, ¡°What the hell are you doing?¡±, or ¡°You have no weapon, and he is WAY bigger than you.¡° Or even the ever impressive, ¡°Ew, he looks really sweaty.¡±


    As I neared her, I saw that F¨ª had dropped her blades. I could see Swish not far from her right leg. I judged the distance, realizing there was no time for me to pick it up. There was only one thing to do, so without slowing, I lowered my shoulder and ran into the brute of a man as hard as I could.


    When I hit, I felt a sharp snap in my right shoulder and saw honest-to-goodness stars. It sounded as though I had knocked the wind out of the Fomorian, but when I couldn¡¯t take in air, I realized, nope, it was me that had been knocked silly. I found myself thudding down in the grass, next to F¨ª¡¯s body.


    The Fomorian stood over us, chuckling to himself. ¡°You are puny, like the fairy.¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± was all I could think to say, and it came out as a wheeze. I writhed on the ground trying to regain my breath. Unbelievably, I felt the sensation of cold slippery metal brush the fingertips of my left hand. ¡°But at least I don¡¯t have a sword in my chest.¡± I grabbed the handle of Swish and dove forward.


    The Fomorian parried without visible effort, but somehow I managed to hang on to the sword. It was light, and the vibration of the parried strike vanished before it reached my hands. It was an incredible lack of sensation for having no discernible handle or grip. The white metal was painted red, but underneath the blood, I saw the white metal was tinged with blue light.


    The Fomorian delivered a blow of his own, but I managed to bring the blade up just in time to protect myself. The head of the warrior¡¯s club went tumbling off into the trees. F¨ª¡¯s sword had cut it neatly in two. The warrior looked at the remainder of his club and tossed it aside, then charged me. I tried to ready myself and pointed the sword up at him as we collided. I think he hit me in the face with his fist because I suddenly couldn¡¯t see out of my left eye.


    We hit the ground in a heap as I saw a brilliant blue glow through my right eye. It reminded me of the stars I had seen the first time I collided with the Fomorian, but this time the blue color dissipated more quickly.


    I just lay there. I hurt all over. Gradually, I realized that I wasn¡¯t being strangled or beaten to death by the smelly man lying next to me, so that seemed like a good sign. I felt hands on me, and realized Morias was helping me sit up. He said something to me, but I couldn¡¯t hear what it was.


    I saw F¨ª stagger to her feet. She stumbled to the prone body of the warrior next to me. She gave me a perplexed look before pulling Swish out of the Fomorian¡¯s body. There was a massive hole in his chest where I guessed the sword had penetrated. Had I done that? Had I¡­ killed a man? A sword couldn¡¯t make a hole that wide, could it?


    F¨ªadan stared at me a long moment. She wasn¡¯t trying to talk to me, but the look on her face made me think that I had done something wrong or perhaps had something in my teeth. She just stared, with a confused look on her face. It reminded me of how she looked at me after the Cailleach Bh¨¦ara fight.


    We made our way to the edge of the camp, as the fighting continued closer to the Pool. Morias helped me onto the back of a horse, telling me to hold tightly with my legs and support my right arm with my left. It felt strange and every step of the mount made my shoulder throb. Morias rode behind me on another horse, and F¨ª flew ahead, guiding us away from the fighting.


    I chanced a glance over my shoulder and could see the soldiers still battling the remaining Fomorians. It looked as though Tadg¡¯s men would prevail in the end. But at what cost, I wondered? Then I saw him. Tadg walked alone, holding a long weapon that looked to be on a pole of sorts.


    Without delay and without lifting my arm, I opened my right hand. I focused on the missing half of the Stone of Destiny, and tried to remember what it felt when the Stone had returned to me earlier. There was a tug on the inside of my chest, and I felt myself tugging back. I saw the Stone escape from under Tadg¡¯s armor.


    He didn¡¯t appear to notice it slipping free. But surely he would have felt that pull, as I did? Then I saw what was holding his attention. He was approaching a huge Fomorian, larger than the others on the battlefield. The warrior was shirtless, save for a bulky necklace made of small bones. He had what looked to be tribal tattoos on various parts of his muscular body. On his head¡­ did he have horns, or was that a helm? It was impossible to tell from a distance.


    ¡°Balor,¡± Morias said from behind me. ¡°Son of King Neit, and Brother to Prince Elatha. Keeper of the Evil Eyes.¡±


    I had no idea what any of that meant, but for the moment I didn¡¯t recall the Stone, but kept it floating next to Tadg. I watched as the two men attacked each other, and I saw the red eyes of the Fomorian begin to glow.


    I recalled what F¨ª had said the moment upon exiting the tent. She had said, ¡°There is fire¡­ that means HE is here.¡± Instantly, I understood what those red eyes did. Without hesitating, I brought the Stone up in front of Tadg and expanded it into a barrier, just as a torrent of flame shot from Balor¡¯s eyes. Tadg took shelter behind the protection of the stone.


    He looked across the battlefield in our direction, and for a split second, we locked eyes. I couldn¡¯t say what I saw in his gaze. Was it betrayal for leaving the camp and taking back the Stone? Was it gratitude for protecting him from the flames? Something told me that one day I would get a chance to ask him.


    When the flames were gone, I recalled the stone. It landed in my open palm and vibrated ever so slightly. Tadg and Balor continued their melee, as reinforcements for both sides began to arrive. Suddenly spent, I turned back to face the front of my mount and the fairy leading us to safety. Exhaustion overwhelmed me, and I felt myself slip into darkness.

 Book 1 Release + Book 2 on RR

    Book One, Children of the Cold Moon, is officially available on Kindle Unlimited, in paperback, and on Audible. I hope you had the opportunity to read and/or download it here while it was free. I want to be sure everyone has a chance to finish it on Royal Road. If you miss it, shoot me a message and I will make sure you can finish it.


    If you want to show even more support, leaving a review on Amazon or reading/rereading on Kindle Unlimited would help a lot.


    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.https://1link.st/longwindedone1</a>


    I will continue to post Book Two, The Breaking of Annwn, here on Royal Road. And feel free to subscribe for more updates:


    http://bit.ly/48kZx3g</a>

 Book 2: Apocryphal Prologue (The Drawbridge)

    < F¨ªadan >


    Day 11 of Midwinter, Sunrise


    Caisle¨¢n Saighead, Gorias


    Annwn


    The morning sunbeams fell between the supports and structures of the gate passage and warmed my skin. The gentle sensation was not lost on me, even as I was bombarded with other sensory information.


    My body hurt all over, as I had become accustomed to over the years. I was bleeding from multiple wounds, and I was sure my right shoulder was out of place.


    I studied the large men and women around me, dodging blade after blade. I knew firsthand what would happen if the larger Fomorian warriors hooked someone with one of their spear-tipped swords. If I got hooked and pulled within the grasp of any of these monsters, there would be no escaping.


    There were enough of them that I couldn¡¯t count them all while flitting between the masses of sweat and muscles. It was safe to say that I was outnumbered ten or 15 to one. Even in my heyday, while I served the High King, I had never tried to take on that many Fomorians by myself.


    They were all counting on me. Bren and The Dagda were counting on me. I had left them at the base of the wall while Aengus and his father attempted to open the secret passage into the depths of the castle. Nemain created a diversion that gave us a chance to achieve our separate but related missions. Bren went to rescue Morias and the Ellyllon Queen¡¯s Guard, while I went to open the drawbridge.


    If I were able to achieve my goal, Aengus would lead the citizenry into the castle and aid us in the goal of taking back Caisle¨¢n Saighead for the Breo-Banr¨ªon. Where the former queen was amid this melee was unknown to any of us. The Fiery Queen had traveled with Tadg to the capital nearly a week ago. The leading thought was that she had not returned by the time the Fomorians had quietly taken over the castle.


    The former king had been killed, even though we once thought the Tuatha D¨¦ Danann could not be killed. Ruadan, her son, had run off with Cai Macc¨¢n, an adopted son of the Fomorians. All of this made my brain hurt, and that is saying something, considering that my entire world at the moment was made up of pain.


    I boiled my whole situation down to this: Fomorians had taken over the home of the family I had once been sworn to protect. Though the nature of my position in the kingdom and the status of the family itself has changed, I was still Ellyllon. And Ellyllon don¡¯t easily forget their loyalties, even to the very end. I would help to retake my former home, or I would die trying.


    Dying while trying appeared to be the most likely outcome, I thought, as I felt my right wing crack and my feet touch down on the ground. I wasn¡¯t able to sustain flight any longer, and the hulking bodies of the enemy loomed around me. I clutched at my Silverwhite blades and willed my shoulder to work. Then, I began to weave in and out of legs, arms, and enormous torsos. They were too close to one another to get full swings of their blades, and I, being one of the fairy folk, slid in and out of their masses while simultaneously sliding my blades in and out of their flesh.


    I was covered in the red blood of the Fomorians. I had it in my hair and my mouth. On several occasions, I had severed arteries and was utterly showered in the liquid life. Despite the sheer amount of blood covering all parts of me, the weapons never lost their grip. These blades had helped me cut my way out of more tight spots over the years than I could remember. They were bound to me. While I drew breath, they were my redeemers. And while they were at my side, I would always breathe deeply amid the wails of my enemies. It was an unbreakable symbiotic truth that had led me to be the last of the Ellyllon guards of High King Bres.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    Bodies fell around me and blows continued to glance off my skin. I jumped and bounded off of their bodies, but not without leaving a farewell slash. I could hear the familiar sounds of ¡°swish¡± and ¡°stick¡± that the Silverwhite blades made as they sang out the coming of death. On one leap, I was bludgeoned with the side of one of the Fomorian cross guards. It nearly ended me.


    The world was a bit fuzzy after that hit, but I was already next to the counterweight chain used inside of the gatehouse. I could see just the top of the chain that traveled the height of the room and into the pit below the gate passage. This was the chain that helped to lift the massive drawbridge blocking the town from the inside of Castle Arrow.


    I couldn¡¯t wait any longer. I dove up and off of one of the Fomorian¡¯s shoulders, sailed through the air, and used Swish to cut the heavy chain. There was a loud crashing sound as the chain descended beneath the floor. There was a momentary pause in the fighting as the Fomorians looked around. I held tight to a brick up near where the chain had once traveled out of the ceiling. There was a groan and the sound of metal rending. I looked to the gate and watched as the great wooden and metal structure fell and crashed to the ground. The vibrations nearly knocked me off my perch, but I held tight.


    A roar erupted from outside and I saw the Fomorians beneath me reform their line. They stepped forward to greet what I could only imagine were the angry citizens of Gorias.


    Every part of me wanted to stay attached to that brick in the gatehouse, but I knew deep down that this was not a moment to rest. The battle was not won, so I dropped down behind the Fomorians quietly. To my great surprise, their attention was completely on the crowds of people rushing to the gate from the city. So much so, that I ran down their entire line, severing the tendons on the backs of their legs.


    The masses were on them then and trampled over their crippled forms. I leaned on the outside wall off to the side of the gate, watching the people run into the castle. Some saluted me as they passed. Aengus was somewhere in their throng, calling out directions and likely supporting the weaker of the fighters. I knew then, that we would retake the castle. A wave of relief mixed with nausea washed over me. The pain after the rush of battle was always the worst, and it found me again and punished me for my efforts. I was woozy and I felt lightheaded.


    I saw them then, two bodies fall from above on the other side of the draw bridge. It was after my second glance that my heart began to pound again. I tried to focus my eyes on the forms. There was a large Fomorian man covered in tattoos. He had a puncture wound just beneath his ribs, and he wore more rings than I could ever remember seeing in one place. I knew the man. It was Balor, the Fomorian prince. He seemed to turn up any time there was a raid or an assault committed by the Fomorians.


    I tried to get my legs under me and began to walk toward the men, but a figure plowed into me as I took my first step out onto the drawbridge. I was knocked back nearly ten feet. Instinct quickly brought me to my knees. I snarled and pulled out my dagger, Stick. I was bracing for another round of attacks when I saw that the person who had run me over was pulling something off of Balor¡¯s body.


    I yelled at him. He brought the object to rest on top of his head before he turned to me. I couldn¡¯t see his face, but I could see that he had dark skin and glowing red eyes. He had taken the Evil Eyes off of the body of Balor. I knew what would happen next and immediately rolled to my left. The torrent of flame shot to my former position, scorching the ground and rocks. When I came to a rest, the man was already running for the edge of the city. In my state, I knew I couldn¡¯t catch him.


    A hand gently lifted me to my feet. I flinched initially but quickly saw the passive face of Lady Badb, one of the three Morrigan sisters. She pointed to the bodies at the base of the wall, to Balor, the scourge of peace, and to the second body that had caused my heart to race. There next to Balor, lay the body of Bren B¨²achaill, bloody, broken, and slowly evaporating into the wind.

 Book 2: Chapter 4: Under the Sea (Bren)

    Day 14 of Midwinter, Sunset


    At Sea, Well of Wisdom


    Annwn


    I traveled like a rocket through the water behind Nechtan. I had started to ask the Cupbearer of Lir if there was a way we could keep Fern¡¯s Shell of Promise dry while we were traveling, but he had only let me get out a syllable before glancing down at the shell, grunting, and magically propelling me after him. I¡¯ll give him credit though, he must have either recognized the shell or knew what I was going to say because I was as dry as a Methodist hootenanny.


    I couldn¡¯t really tell the direction we were traveling. Several times I felt gravity shift directions. The water where we were traveling was as dark as the blackest night. Thankfully, my Night Vision boon allowed me to see just how fast we were traveling, and because of that I only felt mildly carsick¡­ or is it seasick in this case?


    The landscape of the sea was fascinating. I tried to imagine what it would look like if it were totally drained of water. There were hills and mountains, valleys, and huge, dark crevasses. It was as mysterious as any place above sea level that I could ever remember seeing, and I was seeing it at super speed. There were fish and huge creatures that could only be from Aquaman¡¯s worst nightmares, but they left us completely alone. I also thought I saw the faint outline of a female mirroring our nautical path in the water. It had to be the other Cup Bearer, Connla, I thought. We traveled like this for 20-30 minutes, and I had no problems breathing or fighting against the waves or currents.


    After a particularly scary giant invertebrate passed by, I shifted my focus to a glowing light in the distance. As we got closer, I realized we were approaching an open underwater area that had a similar sheen to that of the Deep Realm. I popped out into breathable air inside of a vast room where the walls were either nonexistent or invisible. All I could see around me were vertical planes of water running from the floor to the ceiling.


    Nechtan didn¡¯t come in with me but simply flung me. I stumbled to a stop on a mostly flat sea floor. Thankfully, it was dry inside the space, but it was a little disconcerting being surrounded by massive walls of water. As I looked around and felt the Well of Wisdom loom over and around me, I wondered if this was what Moses felt like when he parted the Red Sea.


    There wasn¡¯t a soul in the enormous room with me. I turned to wave in the direction Nechtan, Connla, and I had come from, but when I looked into the water I realized it was opaque. There was no semi-translucent water layer covering up an aquatic landscape. Instead, there was a dark wall of undulating liquid that appeared to give off a faint glow. Looking around, I could see the same scene play out around the entire room.


    ¡°Hello?¡± I yelled into the airplane-hanger-sized room. There was no answer. I began to walk around the perimeter of the room, eyeing intently the various colors emanating from the water. When I looked more closely I could see the vaguest outlines of shapes moving inside of the water¡­ or were they actually inside of the water?


    I focused harder and realized the various colors seemed to represent different scenes, and inside those scenes were different people and different landscapes. There must have been hundreds. This was a portal room, I realized, only the portals in question had no discernible borders. There were no wardrobes in this room, no Stargate, just an unseen transition from one portal to another on the surface of the vertical water. I did a double take in the direction of one scene when I realized the people and objects inside had changed from what had been there mere seconds before.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    That scene in particular drew my attention, and I began to walk toward it. I could see darkness inside, but it was a different darkness than that of the underwater landscape. Inside the darkness were glowing points of light representing magic. I could see a variety of colors, illuminated by my racial ability that allowed such arcane identification. There were silvers and coppers, and even a few golds. Someday I needed to figure out what each of these colors meant.


    All these thoughts passed through my mind, as they often did, while I willingly wandered into danger. I realized too late that I was passing through the portal, into the dark room, as my whole leg disappeared into the space. The inertia of my motion carried the rest of me forward.


    Upon standing fully in the dark room, I found the brightness level comfortable, like the inside of Isengard from the Peter Jackson movies. The dark stone walls and polished stone floor gave both the acoustics and visuals a vault-like vibe.


    The room reminded me of the treasure room in Gorias, though this room was coated in a thick layer of dust. There were fewer gems and currency caches in this vault. Instead, sparse displays of weapons and a single suit of armor hung on the wall. The smooth floors were covered in dirty area rugs. Strange, almost holographic lights pulsed along the ceiling. A brazier flared to life in front of the armor as I stepped closer.


    Now that I was close, I realized calling it a suit of armor was a little generous. It appeared to have a shoulder guard set attached to a significant-looking belt by crossing leather straps. Ornate golden metal plates connected to the straps in the sternum and lower abdomen areas. This was armor meant to protect the wearer from killing blows, but nothing more. To either side of the armor were gauntlets. Activating my Advanced Identification skill, I could feel my Battlesmith domain knowledge feeding the boon information.


    Seol¨¢n Neimhe


    This Neart¨®r Disc Armor once belonged to the Sky God, Taranis. Its name means ¡°Heaven¡¯s Channel.¡± Originally designed to focus the raw fury of thunder and lightning, the disc armor amplifies the wielder''s ability to attract and harness the weave.


    Before the description of the item had even finished, I had taken it off of the wall and affixed the belt to my waist. The rest of the pieces went on easily enough, and once I was completely adorned in the Sky God¡¯s armor, I felt a slight hum throughout my body. I caught a yellow glow emanating from the abdominal disc and watched as a solitary spark arced to the right gauntlet. The amount of energy that I could draw on from my Control Energy boon had just doubled. It was as if the very weave was drawn to me. Instinctively, I reached for the nearest sword and lifted it into the air. Then I mouthed the words, ¡°I have the power!¡± Eat your heart out, He-Man.


    The technicolor holographic lights that flashed on the ceiling began to elongate and stretch in my direction. It gave the room an odd hue, reminding me of the sky before a tornado. The brazier on the floor of the chamber began to flare in my direction, only the fire was not true fire. This was clearly a magical light source, and it was almost like the magic felt compelled to get closer to me.


    ¡°I see you¡¯ve found Eiocha¡¯s hidden armory.¡± The voice came from behind me, near where I had entered the room. I turned to see a gray-haired man garbed in a tattered blue robe standing near the portal. ¡°Be careful with that, lad. You could suck this room dry of magic, and then where would we be? You would pop like a ripe fruit.¡±


    I didn¡¯t need to ask if this man was Lir. Not only did every part of him scream God of the Sea, but I was having a hard time untangling myself from the various points of energy trying to attach itself to me.


    ¡°How do I turn it off? I asked. I was beginning to feel a bit overwhelmed by the seemingly unending energy assault.


    The man chuckled, and that instantly irritated me. I clenched my teeth together and tried my best to get a handle on the sheer amount of ambient energy trying to force itself into me. My eyes closed on instinct and I exhaled.


    ¡°Interesting,¡± I heard Lir say. ¡°Not all can wield the personal effects of the S¨ªorl¨¢idir.¡±


    And with the utterance of that word, S¨ªorl¨¢idir, I lost all concentration. My eyes flicked open to look at the man, and the brightness of the weave almost blinded me. The energy began to bombard my body, leaving me a limp, helpless vessel for unrelenting magic.

 Book 2: Chapter 8: Eiocha’s Armory (Bren)

    < Bren >


    Day 14 of Midwinter, Sunset


    At Sea, Well of Wisdom


    Annwn


    I managed to wrestle the gauntlets off first. From there, I disconnected the belt and shoulder guards. Lir simply watched with an air of amusement, though I noticed he didn¡¯t get any closer during the energy flare-up.


    ¡°I¡¯m¡­ Bren,¡± I tried to say, teetering on shaky legs¡­ and was that burnt toast I suddenly smelled?


    Lir looked me up and down. ¡°Are you well?¡±


    ¡°I think so.¡± I glanced back down at the armor. ¡°Did someone actually wear that armor?¡±


    ¡°Not since the founding of the great cities.¡±


    I thought maybe he was speaking about Falias, Gorias, Murias, and Findrias, but things were still a little fuzzy in my shell-shocked brain. ¡°I want to know more about¡­what¡¯s-his-name...but I¡¯m having a hard time focusing right now.¡± My vision swam.


    Lir came forward and took the sword from my hands. He gently leaned it back on the wall and led me to a chair. ¡°Taranis was a S¨ªorl¨¢idir. Like you, it would seem.¡±


    ¡°Like me¡­¡± I chuckled. ¡°Before you tell me anything else about the sky god, can you please start with what S¨ªorl¨¢idir means?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t know what you are?¡± Lir''s lips twitched. He seemed genuinely amused by my complete and utter confusion. My physical disorientation seemed to only add to his amusement.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t really had a chance to learn about my¡­uh¡­recent changes. I was saving a long list of questions for Morias for the next time I see him.¡± I paused, thinking about my friend and caretaker. The last time I had seen Morias, he was unconscious atop the parapet in Gorias. Thanks to Nemain, I at least knew he and F¨ªadan were still alive.


    Lir nodded. ¡°You can ask me your questions if you like.¡±


    ¡°No offense, but so far your brothers and sisters haven¡¯t really given me much reason to trust members of your family."


    ¡°Hence why I left.¡±


    That statement gave me pause. I hadn¡¯t considered what Lir¡¯s reason for leaving the court of the Overking might be until now, but it made sense. Before I could think better of it, I blurted, ¡°You know, your brother is a real dink.¡±


    Lir looked confused. ¡°I¡¯m afraid I don¡¯t know what a ''dink'' is.¡±


    I ignored him. I didn¡¯t think I could define it either, come to think of it. ¡°Let¡¯s just say that Nuada locked up his own son just because he admitted to being my friend.¡±


    ¡°My brother does not forget perceived slights,¡± he said. I raised my eyebrows, letting him know I thought this was maybe a bit of an understatement. Unfazed, he continued, ¡°You asked about the S¨ªorl¨¢idir?¡±


    I nodded.


    ¡°I once thought that the S¨ªorl¨¢idir were the lost powers of the realms. They were the gods of this world before the coming of my family.¡±The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ¡°What do you mean you ¡®once thought¡¯ they were the lost powers?¡±


    He smiled. ¡°That is what I believed...until a S¨ªorl¨¢idir came to visit me at Tir fo Thuinn and nearly exploded himself playing with the sky god''s armor.¡±


    ¡°Har de har har,¡± I muttered, realizing he was talking about me. I waved at him to keep talking.


    ¡°Mother Danu was among their number, as was Father Death.¡±


    ¡°Donn?¡± I asked, trying to remember the Tuatha patriarch¡¯s name.


    ¡°Indeed. My brothers and I called them the ¡®Greater Gods,¡¯ or the ¡®Old Powers.¡¯ They represent the dualistic nature of the realms¡±


    ¡°Danu represents life and Donn represents death. The same duality exists between my brother and I. We are Harmony and Chaos." I had cobbled together some rudimentary knowledge of my own duality in the last two weeks, so I actually knew what he was talking about. Sort of. "What were some of the others?¡±


    Lir motioned to the armor sitting in a heap in front of me. ¡°Taranis was the god of the heavens. His counterpart was Eiocha, the embodiment of the land and sea. Eiocha built this room, as a refuge, when the S¨ªorl¨¢idir began to disappear.¡±


    I shook my head as I tried to wrap my mind around a second pantheon of gods in this crazy world. Then I had a thought...was there only one pantheon at a time? It seemed like it. The S¨ªorl¨¢idir were the first generation of gods in Annwn. Lir and his Tuatha brothers and sisters came about as the old gods were disappearing. ¡°Does that mean Danu and Donn were the last of the dualistic gods?¡±


    ¡°Until the night of the Cold Moon, yes.¡± Lir paused, looking away from me. He scanned the room, appearing to take inventory of each weapon, bit, and bauble lying around. ¡°I¡¯ve never been able to enter this gateway before.¡±


    He stood and extended a hand, helping me to my own feet. I staggered at first, as a wave of dizziness came and went, leaving me feeling mostly normal. ¡°You mentioned Tir fo Thuinn. Is that the underwater room I was just in?¡±


    Lir had stepped away from me and appeared to be assessing the various items in the room. His voice was distracted. ¡°Yes. Its name roughly translates to ''The Land Under the Waves.'' It is a means to and from Annwn for those in need.¡±


    ¡°A portal room,¡± I said, pondering his words. ¡°Why haven¡¯t you come into this room before?¡±


    Lir glanced back at me, looking troubled. ¡°The ¡®portals¡¯ change and fluctuate according to the needs and the deeds of those across the realms. Though I have seen this gateway before, it has never presented an opportunity for my entry.¡± As he spoke, he carefully examined weapons and other items, lifting and discarding each in turn, before continuing his circumnavigation of the room.


    And me? I found myself eyeing a nearby flask Lir had already assessed and discarded. My thoughts drifted, again, to Morias. He had always carried a flask with him. The last time I had seen that flask, it had contained magic water that he made me drink. Never mind that it was water he had wrung out of his clothing after a swim in the Heart-shaped Pool. I shuddered, remembering, then reached out and pocketed the flask. Clearly, it wasn''t of interest to Lir.


    I heard a clatter from the other side of the room. ¡°You don¡¯t see this every day,¡± Lir said. He reached into the cold forge, pulling out a dark staff with a large knot on the end. ¡°A Lustrum alloy shillelagh.¡± He tossed the staff and I caught it with ease.


    I turned the imperfect staff around in my hands, testing the properties. Though it appeared to have been forged intentionally crooked, the length and weight felt...somehow right. The gnarled, misshapen knot on the end made for a great handhold, and also, I suspected, a brutal hammerhead.


    The staff had looked black at first, but now that I angled it in the light, I could see a rainbow of colors within the darkness. With a start, I realized the staff was made of the same alloy as the meshmail Ruadan had given me in Gorias. I used my Advanced Identification boon to get more information:


    Cast Lustrum Shillelagh


    Lustrum is an alloy made from cold iron mixed with smelted Duinnite ore. It contains some of the lightness and durability of grown Silverwhite, but allows the metal to be forged or shaped. This weapon was cast from an ancient Blackthorn shillelagh and retains each thorn scar and knot of the original.


    Your domain classification Battlesmith allows you the ability to modify this weapon with little or no equipment. This item is a lustrum shillelagh. Would you like to MODIFY this item?


    I mentally focused on NOT modifying the ancient weapon. Instead, I placed the tip to the ground and transferred some of my weight onto the non-wooden, very metal walking stick. It was a weird weapon to want to hold on to, but in a strange way, it felt very me.


    ¡°Bren,¡± Lir called. He stood next to the portal leading back to the large underwater room. ¡°Grab the armor and come with me. There is something I need you to do.¡±

 Book 2: Chapter 12: Squid Pro Quo (Bren)

    Day 14 of Midwinter, Sunset


    At Sea, Well of Wisdom


    Annwn


    Lir and I stepped back into Tir fo Thuinn from the armory of Eiocha. In my hands, I held the disc armor and the shillelagh.


    ¡°That armory was an interesting find,¡± murmured Lir. ¡°We have no other surviving record of Taranis or Eiocha practicing their smith skills."


    I stopped long enough to carefully place the armor and shillelagh on the sea floor before turning to face the god. Enough was enough. ¡°Are we really going to just keep chatting about history, pretending there isn¡¯t a war going on? You sent for me to discuss your brother¡¯s war, and now that I''m here, you don''t seem to want to talk about it." I gestured around the cavernous room. "What are you even doing down here? Where have you been?¡±


    Lir inclined his head and sighed. ¡°I suppose we should get down to business. Please forgive an old man''s meandering. It would seem that when someone lives as long as I have, their sense of urgency changes somewhat.¡± He gazed around the room. A long pause filled the air until I couldn''t stand it anymore.


    ¡°You''re doing it again," I blurted. "Why am I here? What is it that you need me to do for you?¡±


    Lir gave me an amused look, either oblivious to my growing impatience or simply not caring. ¡°Which question would you like me to answer first? What I¡¯m doing down here, where I have been, or what I must ask of you?¡±


    I felt my face growing hot with frustration. Even my ears were burning. ¡°Well, as for where you''ve been, I guess you''ve been down here, probably staring into these water gateways." I waved a hand at the various scenes playing out around us. "So, I guess let''s start with what you''re doing down here in the first place, and your thoughts on the Overking¡¯s declaration of war on the Fomorians and the fae.¡±


    Lir looked as though I had slapped him. ¡°I abhor it. It is the culminating act of a desperate man. My brother has changed¡­something I first began to notice 1,500 of your years ago, though I never expected him to stray so far.¡±


    ¡°That number rings a bell.¡± I thought back to my conversations with Morias. ¡°That was when the sages were killed, and Morias came to ¨¦riu. Right?¡±


    Lir nodded. ¡°Yes. Those were very troubling times.¡±


    ¡°Is that why you left Falias? Because you noticed the Overking had changed?¡± It sounded a bit far-fetched that a god would leave for such a simple reason as his brother acting weird.


    Lir frowned at me. ¡°There is that name again, "overking.'' Before Nuada, Bres simply used the title of High King. It implied nobility and responsibility. When Nuada began to change, he took the title Overking, which implies rulership and his expectation of servitude from those he ruled.¡±


    ¡°Yep, that sounds pretty fitting for your bro. No offense.¡±


    ¡°You may doubt me, but he wasn¡¯t always like this,¡± Lir insisted. ¡°When he led us in the battles of Mag Tuired, he was a sight to behold.¡± Lir smiled sadly, seeming lost for a moment.


    ¡°Was that before or after he killed all of Bres¡¯ Ellyllon and kicked his half-brother off of the throne?¡± I demanded. I couldn''t help but feel rage and sorrow as I thought about what had happened to F¨ªadan''s comrades in arms.


    Lir looked pained but nodded. ¡°Fair point. Perhaps within my brother, there were always the underpinnings of a tyrant, and we were just too enamored with him to notice it.¡±


    ¡°Now what? You can¡¯t mean to stay down here forever. The world is going to chet up there!¡±


    ¡°That is why I sent for you.¡± Lir stepped closer. He pointed in the direction of the various portals. ¡°These weren¡¯t meant to be windows into the wide world, but rather passageways¡­ highways, I believe you call them. But through these aqueous lenses, I have witnessed the subjugation of my brothers and sisters. I have watched as the Fomorians were forced to sneak into the mortal world to further their families and preserve their race. And I have seen countless refugees abandoning the land of magic for the land of the aged. It is time for those with eyes to act."


    I felt goosebumps ripple across my arms at his words. ¡°Does this mean you will help us to defeat Nuada?¡±


    ¡°Not exactly.¡± He abruptly began to rustle through the pile of armor at my feet. When he found the belt, he expertly removed the two straps connecting the shoulder sets and sternum disc. He handed the reduced belt to me. ¡°Put this on.¡±Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    I had no idea what was going on, but took the belt and cautiously reattached it to my waist. ¡°I feel a charge in the air, like before.¡±


    Lir looked me up and down, appearing satisfied. ¡°Yes. You will begin with the belt. As you are ready, you will work your way up, eventually gaining the ability to don the full set. You will need it for where I will send you.¡±


    I took a step back, raising my hands. ¡°Woah, woah, woah. I¡¯m already on a mission. I need to find allies for the Fomorians. I don''t have time to go on some kind of side quest!"


    Lir stepped closer to the massive wall of water. He beckoned me to follow. ¡°If you are seeking allies for your brethren, you will complete this ¡®quest¡¯ for me.¡±


    I followed the man, curious despite my doubts. As we walked, I couldn''t help but glance at the opaque centers of the doorways. Occasionally, I could see a place I recognized. In one portal, I saw the carved homes and buildings of the Deep Realm. Masses of people stood in the open areas above the water. A procession of large men and women marched through the underground city toward the Hanging Tower, a massive stalactite.


    In another, I saw the white caps of the Green Mountains and the p¨²ca I had met on my brief journey back to Earth. The huge, extended family had been fleeing the violence and persecution of the Tuatha. I saw my little buddy, Jamie, running and playing with the other p¨²ca children. The sight awakened a warm feeling inside of me, as it was Jamie who had renewed my faith in my own intentions and abilities.


    Lir stopped in front of a portal that opened into a beautiful, medieval town. The brownstone brickwork of each building appeared ancient and weathered, even while seeming impervious to time. Balconies and elevated porches overlooked the streets.


    I realized, with a start, that the city contained no traditional streets like I would have expected in a medieval urban landscape. Instead, it was built more like Venice. Where I would have expected traditional roadways, were only waterways. Small longboat-style water taxis traversed the town, ferrying people to stairs and walkways that ended at the water¡¯s edge. The boats'' prows extended far above the water. In some cases, the ferrymen and passengers even appeared to use the long prow to enter and exit the vessels.


    ¡°This is the Deep Water port of Murias, home to the largest navy in Annwn,¡± Lir said with reverence. ¡°This is where the next leg of your journey begins.¡±


    Incredulous, I turned to face the god. ¡°Uh¡­ Unless you''re suggesting I hijack the whole navy and bring it back to Cai, I don¡¯t really understand. What exactly do I need to do?¡±


    Lir ignored my question. ¡°After my brother took the crown, he gathered those immediate family members he deemed most dangerous to his rule. We were required to remain in Falias. Nuada wanted us close by, where he could watch us.¡±


    My head was spinning. ¡°Who exactly did he force to remain in the capital?¡±


    Lir looked surprised at my question. ¡°It is easy to forget how little you understand of Annwn. There were five of us. Myself, of course, and Ogma, who holds dominion over the domain of Knowledge. Dian C¨¦cht, the god of Healing. You can imagine the value of having the two of them around. Next, the smith god, Goibhniu, who formed the Silverwhite blades for King Bres. Finally, there is The Dagda, though Nuada allowed the god of magic to remain in Gorias, mostly out of fear of his power.¡±


    ¡°Why are you telling me all of this?¡± I asked. While I knew this was important context, I also didn''t particularly see how it was relevant in this particular moment.


    ¡°You are seeking allies, if I am not mistaken. Yes?¡±


    I nodded.


    ¡°I am not the only Tuatha D¨¦ Danann to defy my brother¡¯s wishes and go into hiding. My brother Goibhniu has disappeared, and I fear the worst.¡±


    I suddenly realized where he was going with what had seemed like an off-topic history lesson. I sighed. ¡°You want me to find him, don¡¯t you.¡±


    It was Lir¡¯s turn to nod. ¡°If you can find him and convince him to aid you, you will have my gratitude... and I will lend the Fomorians the strength of the sea.¡±


    I turned to the Murias portal. It appeared to open into the water itself. ¡°The sea,¡± I remarked absently, watching the dark water lap against the rocks and stones that made up the foundation of Murias.


    Lir¡¯s voice snapped me out of my musing. ¡°Bren. ''Now is no time to think of what you do not have. Think of what you can do with that there is.''¡±


    I recognized his words, a quote from one of Morias¡¯ favorite books, Hemingway''s The Old Man and the Sea. He''d talked about it so much, that I had actually given in and read the thing. I turned back to Lir, digging the next phrases of the passage from the depths of my mind. ¡°''But every day is a new day. It is better to be lucky. But I would rather be exact.''¡±


    A brief flicker of surprise passed over Lir''s face before it broke into a grateful smile. I held his gaze as I continued. ¡°I will find your brother, but there will come a time to reclaim what I ¡®do not have.¡¯ When that time comes, I will call on you for the strength and speed of the sea.¡±


    I thought of my existing strengths and about what might lie before me. Then I reviewed the notifications from my last Power Rank level up.


    Name: Bren B¨²achaill


    Race: S¨ªorl¨¢idir


    Current Power Rank - Level 12


    Current Progression Status:


    Physical Progression +44


    Mental Progression +37


    Spiritual Progression +48


    Domain: Chaos


    Domain Classification: Battlesmith (Enhanced)


    You have been gifted with the following boons:


    Control Energy


    Erratic Agility


    Dark Vision


    Pain Sponge


    Spiritual Augur


    Battlefield Forge


    You have one blood-borne curse:


    Mark of the Bodach (Permanent)


    Innate Racial Abilities:


    Rapid Regeneration


    Advanced Identification


    Magic Sense

 Book 2: Chapter 16: Manannán Mac Lir (Bren)

    Day 14 of Midwinter, Sunset


    At Sea, Well of Wisdom


    Annwn


    The old man of the sea grasped my forearm in one of those old-fashioned handshakes I had seen in various period movies. I grasped his arm back, trying to make the foreign motion look natural.


    I had told him about Fern¡¯s Shell of Promise. He said he was no stranger to the selkie items and knew exactly how they worked, which made one of us. Placing the shell in seawater would do nothing but communicate, on a subconsciously magical level, my exact location to Fern.


    I reminded him that when the time was right, I would need the sea to hasten our reunion. Lir had agreed to my terms, but I could tell that he still thought he''d gotten the better end of our deal.


    ¡°How will I know where to find your brother¡­ what was his name again?¡± I asked.


    Lir turned as a figure stepped from the city into Tir fo Thuinn. The man had short, curly hair that looked wet for some reason. He was clean-shaven with youthful features that reminded me of Ruadan. He wore a long rectangular cloth gathered at his right shoulder, leaving the left side of his chest and arm completely bare. In his arm, he held the weirdest-looking spear I had ever seen. It had four sharp blades at right angles to each other, with a point in the middle. It looked like a mace and a spear had a really weird-looking baby.


    Lir gestured proudly to the newcomer. ¡°Bren, this is my son, Manann¨¢n, Child of the Sea, Patron of Manau, Master of the Waves, Guardian of the Mist, God of Travelers.¡±


    I waved awkwardly. ¡°I¡¯m Bren. Just Bren¡­ but I¡¯ve been known to answer to other, less flattering things.¡±


    The boy-faced man smiled at me, but his eyes remained cool and appraising. ¡°B¨²achaill is not an epithet that should fall unused.¡± Clearly, he had heard of me. I hoped that was a good thing. Manann¨¢n extended his hand, grasping my forearm as his father had. ¡°By the Sages, another Protector has not been seen since the S¨ªorl¨¢idir Teutates vanished.¡±


    ¡°Technically, I¡¯m not a protector,¡± I admitted, thinking about my Chaos domain.


    ¡°Yet, others seem to feel differently,¡± Lir countered, his tone dry. ¡°Assuming you didn¡¯t give yourself this title?¡± I shook my head.


    "Father, a word in private." Manann¨¢n gestured to his father, and the two men took a few steps away from me. They spoke quietly for several minutes, Manann¨¢n looking troubled and gesturing to me. I focused my eyes on the city through the portal, casually stepping closer hoping to hear what looked like a soft argument.


    From the scattered words that I was able to pick up, Manann¨¢n had convinced his father to let him take me to Murias before we headed east into the hills and mountains below Tech Duinn. Apparently, this was the last place Goibhniu, the Smith god, had been seen.


    As Lir and his son continued their conversation, my thoughts shifted to Cai. I realized that by undertaking this additional quest I would miss the funeral of King Neit and the coronation of soon-to-be Queen Tethra. I hoped, at least, that Cai would see my path across Annwn by watching from his... magic bowl thing. What was it called again? The name had reminded me of lingerie¡­ a brazier, I think. This particular device, a Blaze Diviner, allowed Cai to remotely see what was happening in a particular place or around a certain person. Given that I didn¡¯t know how to shield myself from the effects of the magic bowl, I was pretty confident Cai could and would follow and approve of my current path.


    Manann¨¢n embraced his father, their conversation apparently having drawn to a close. He stepped closer to me, placing a hand on my shoulder, and squeezing just shy of too hard. He gestured to the portal in front of us, pointing at the Deep Water port of Murias. ¡°It is time, Protector.¡±


    I stopped before stepping through, remembering something. I turned back to Lir, raising my pilfered flask for him to see. He gave me a quizzical look before nodding, as if to simultaneously approve my taking of the flask and bid me farewell. I nodded back before stepping through the portal.


    Manann¨¢n stepped through behind me. Looking back from where we had come, I realized that to any passers-by it would appear that we had emerged out of solid stone. I touched the side of the building. Where only moments before there had been a translucent sheen, now there was only a wall. My fingers felt around for the edge of a door or portal. Nothing.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ¡°You won¡¯t find it by looking.¡± Manann¨¢n placed his palm flat on the wall. His expression was a combination of admiration and fondness. "Every entrance and egress from Tir fo Thuinn requires a different key, so to speak.¡±


    ¡°At least it''s not complicated,¡± I joked, trying to break through the other man''s serious demeanor. ¡°Will you teach me how to go back?¡±


    Manann¨¢n shrugged. ¡°I haven¡¯t decided yet, but ultimately that¡¯s up to you.¡± Well, that wasn''t concerning at all. I decided to abandon my attempt to make friends.


    Instead, I pondered the building in front of me. It was nothing special or out of the ordinary. Huge blocks of the same fine-grained, light brown stone were stacked flawlessly upon one another to make this and what looked like all the other buildings of this neighborhood.


    ¡°It is limestone, in case you were wondering,¡± Manann¨¢n said. ¡°Look closely; you might even see patterns you recognize.¡± I peered at the stone and realized that I did see familiar patterns. Most notably, there were tiny fragments of shells peppered throughout this particular block. ¡°The limestone is particularly resistant to the lapping of the waves and spray of the salt on the wind.¡±


    Unfortunately, I saw nothing on the wall that gave me any clue as to how to get back into the portal room. Shrugging, I decided to get down to business. ¡°So...What exactly are we doing here? And what should I call you? Should I use your full name? Do I need to include all of the titles when I address you? Honestly, even by itself, Manann¨¢n is a mouthful.¡± I knew I was rambling, but the questions just kept tumbling out.


    ¡°Slow down, Protector.¡±


    ¡°Stop calling me that,¡± I snapped. ¡°It''s been a while since I protected anyone. Maybe just call me Bren for now.¡±


    Manann¨¢n''s tone was light when he responded. ¡°You feel as if the designation sets expectations too high for your future self?¡± He gazed over the edge of the stone platform, into the dark water below. Moving to his side, I peered down as well. My Dark Vision didn¡¯t seem to help me see into the opaque surface of the ocean. It seemed like a strange nuance of the boon.


    Manann¨¢n held his hand above the water, which began to bubble and churn. I instinctively took a step back. I had already seen some of the sea creatures lurking beneath the surface on my travels from Inis Fer Falga. Who knew what the son of the sea god could unleash on Murias? I imagined enormous monsters with rows of teeth and countless tentacles and shuddered. To my relief, though, I watched as a small sailboat emerged. Water spewed from the small ship''s recesses as it came to rest atop the surface.


    ¡°My currach,¡± Manann¨¢n said proudly as if the vessel was a priceless artifact.


    The thing was hideous. While I guessed from his tone that the ship had to be seaworthy, it looked like it belonged in one of those museums that exhibited random objects found in peat bogs or glaciers after thousands of years of neglect and decay. The ship had a black, wooden frame and what appeared to be canvas sides (also black). A single sail rose only six feet off the front bow. The thin mast sat at an angle, pointing toward the back of the boat.


    ¡°By the look on your face, I¡¯m thinking ¡®currach¡¯ doesn¡¯t mean what I think it means,¡± I said, trying not to laugh. There was no way this ship could handle the weight of one of us, let alone both. It looked like it was one hard breath away from dissolving into a pile of rags and sticks.


    I was immediately proven wrong, as Manann¨¢n stepped down into the vessel and beckoned me to do the same. It didn''t sink. Yet. He looked at me, his irritation visible. ¡°What do you think it means?¡±


    ¡°You really don¡¯t want to know,¡± I admitted, unwilling to admit I''d been pondering whether it was an Annwn word for a pile of crap.


    ¡°A currach is a sea vessel meant to travel fairly large distances in the rough waters of ¨¦riu." He ran his hand lovingly across the sides of the small ship. "She has been a worthy ally."


    I stepped into the ship, moving to sit across from Manann¨¢n in the low spot in the very middle of the boat. The minute I was seated, Manann¨¢n whistled sharply, a sound that seemed more appropriate to call a dog or a horse. Without a lurch, the currach turned and began to make its way toward the deeper open water. It skimmed lightly over the surface.


    ¡°Long distances, huh,¡± I muttered, trying to imagine what it must have been like to spend days at sea, trusting my life to what seemed like no more than a little bit of animal hide and tar affixed to a small wooden frame.


    "The sheet," Manann¨¢n said, handing me the end of a rope, one of two in the oversized dinghy. I vaguely remembered the sheet could be used to move the sail side to side, while the other, the halyard, would move the sail up and down. I clutched the rope in my hand, feeling stupid and as if I was missing something important. Was...the son of the sea god attempting to teach me to sail? Maybe I''d misjudged what I''d believed to be his fairly distrustful demeanor.


    He pointed to the back side of the boat. ¡°That is the tiller. It will help you steer the currach." Looking smug, Manann¨¢n leaned back against the side of the currach. "You will need both the sheet rope and the tiller to navigate what is to come.¡±


    I was immediately on edge. ¡°I don¡¯t think I like--or understand--your meaning. What are we doing out here?¡±


    ¡°My Father risks much by trusting and aligning himself with someone so new to our world. I am less convinced you are worth that risk." He looked me up and down. "But I respect my father and his wisdom, so will give you the opportunity to prove yourself worthy of his faith.¡± I sighed, preparing myself for more Otherworldly shenanigans I didn''t feel at all ready to handle.


    Ignoring me, he continued, his tone ominous. "This sunset you will discover why this sea is called the Well of Wisdom. If you survive, I will accede to my father''s wishes and trust you to find Goibhniu."


    A few moments passed as the vessel sailed further into Murias harbor. ¡°That''s it!" I shouted, snapping my fingers as inspiration hit. ¡°I think I¡¯ll call you Manny.¡±

 Book 2: Chapter 20: The Well of Wisdom (Bren)

    Day 14 of Midwinter, Sunset


    At Sea, Well of Wisdom


    Annwn


    A storm brewed on the horizon. As soon as we¡¯d left the protection of the harbor with its view of houses and city blocks and entered the vast openness of the western ocean, I knew it. The clouds above looked ominous, and the churning water below had taken on an inky black shade I associated with fathomless deep.


    I equated the deep with the unknown, a sensation made even stronger by the nothingness I felt on all sides. I felt¡­adrift, like the currach that was being tossed more and more by the waves around us. I knew I wasn¡¯t putting my best foot forward with the son of the sea god. Still, it was hard to remain cheerful given the seriousness of what faced us and, I admitted to myself, my impatience to get help to Cai and the Fomorians without having to complete whatever ¡°test¡± Manny had in store for me. Still, I resolved then and there to give the mistrustful man a chance. After all, what¡¯s the worst that could happen to me here?


    As if reading my mind, Manann¨¢n spoke. ¡°There are worse fates on Mag Rein than death.¡± Great. And just like that, my irritation returned.


    ¡°You¡¯re a real ray of sunshine, Manny, you know?¡± In my defense, Manann¨¢n was doing absolutely bupkis to help with the small boat. I struggled with the sheet and tiller, glancing up to see what looked like a hint of amusement on his face. As quickly as I spotted it, the expression was gone.


    ¡°Death is not always the worst-case scenario for we immortals, particularly on the sea.¡± He gazed critically at where my hands clutched the sheet and tiller, looking as if he was about to comment on my¡­er, technique. In my defense, I had successfully made it out of the harbor without clipping another vessel.


    I quickly spoke. ¡°So¡­Mag Rein must be a reference to the two Wells?¡± No response whatsoever. I sighed, deciding I might as well face things head-on. ¡°You might as well just tell me. When do the terrible things start happening?¡±


    Manann¨¢n raised his eyebrows and tipped his head to the darkening horizon. ¡°I see it,¡± I snapped. My temper was close to breaking point. ¡°You had me come out here, and I¡¯m pretty sure you knew this would happen. What exactly am I supposed to do? Steer into the storm? That doesn¡¯t seem particularly wise.¡±


    Manann¨¢n shrugged, relaxing even more into his seat while I wrestled with the small ship. ¡°You tell me. But whatever you are going to do, you should do it soon. The wind and waves will only continue to increase in power.¡±


    He was right. The jib, the tiny front sail, was all over the place, and I was fighting the tiller so much that my arm had begun to cramp.


    ¡°I get it. This is the test.¡± I pondered my choices. I could try to turn the currach around and flee from danger (which would make me a coward)¡­or I could sail directly into the storm (which definitely would make me an idiot). It was an impossible decision. It seemed like situations like this were always set up by someone who liked lording their judgment over others. They always had a ¡°right¡± answer in mind. I shook my head. ¡°There is no good decision here.¡±


    Instead of replying, Manann¨¢n recited an all-too-familiar Irish proverb. ¡°The storm makes the oak grow deeper roots.¡±


    ¡°The storm also makes the oak into driftwood!¡± I retorted. Even so, I took his meaning and steered the ship directly toward the flashing lightning ahead. Around my waist, I felt an ever-so-slight buzz from Taranis¡¯ belt.


    Manann¨¢n appeared completely unconcerned by the approaching maelstrom. He stared pensively into the darkness. ¡°The Western Well always makes me think of Uncle Ogma.¡±


    I continued to struggle with the currach in the waves, but found myself curious enough to ask, ¡°Uncle-God of Knowledge, right?¡±Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    ¡°Yes. He is wise and full of wondrous stories and poetry. Some believe his great mind is fed indirectly from this very sea.¡±


    ¡°I thought drinking salt water would kill you, not make you smarter,¡± I said flippantly.


    ¡°Indeed¡­ It is said the wisdom of Ogma was given by the salmon he attracted with his velvet tongue. The fish connected him directly to the weave itself and granted a sort of divine inspiration.¡± It was a confusing story, to be honest, but of all things, fish making someone smart wouldn¡¯t be the weirdest thing I had heard in the past two weeks.


    At that moment, I felt a sudden, strong gust of wind yank the ship off course. I found myself fighting even harder with the sheet and tiller. Seeming completely unfazed, Manann¨¢n stood suddenly. Without any fanfare, he pulled a flat and worn square of grayish leather from his pockets and folded it in his hands until it resembled the shape of a bag. Then Manny stuffed my loose belongings into it and set a foot on the gunnel with relaxed concentration.


    ¡°I will return the rest of your armor and your shillelagh if you survive.¡± He turned to face the ocean.


    ¡°Wait! What are you doing?¡± I asked, panicking. ¡°You aren¡¯t leaving, are you? You can¡¯t leave now!¡±


    ¡°Survive, God of Chaos. Be the quality that others have seen in you.¡±


    ¡°How? What am I even doing here?¡±


    ¡°If you can understand the mysteries of the sea, I will find you after.¡± With that, he leaped into the dark, turbulent water.


    ¡°You are the worst God of Travelers ever!¡± I yelled to no one. The currach had lurched sideways, despite my attempts to pull on the ropes and tiller to hold it in line. I was fighting what felt like the full might of the ocean. The wind was now dictating the ship¡¯s orientation. It seemed that even my increased strength simply wasn¡¯t enough to steer it properly.


    I had to be missing something. What had Manny said before he left me to fend for myself? Something about mysteries of the sea¡­ I decided to stop trying to break apart Manny¡¯s cryptic goodbye, and instead focus on getting the ship pointed in a direction of my choosing. But where to go?


    It was probably a bad idea to steer into the storm. But then again, I was here to prove something to the father-son duo, and I doubted the massive storm was a coincidence. With that in mind, I set about trying to orient the boat toward the flashes of lighting and the roar of¡­ farthing hell, was that a funnel cloud?


    The wind was too strong and erratic for me to even try to overpower it. Out of desperation, I let the wind guide my movements, without letting the gusts fully dictate the direction of the small vessel, which I realized picked up a fair amount of speed.


    ¡°Yes!¡± I shouted. I positioned the jib and the tiller such that I was at an ideal angle to propel myself forward, building momentum. With momentum came leverage and the ability to choose my own direction. I aimed directly at the monster of a waterspout sucking up the ocean before me.


    As I grew closer, I felt the water from the top of the funnel falling all around me. There was ¡°little bitty stinging rain and big old fat rain. Rain that flew in sideways.¡± I steered the small currach in and out of the path of the tornado, but I knew eventually our paths would cross.


    Have you ever been so fixated on a task that you could only focus on whether you can do something and not whether you should be doing that thing? That was my current frame of mind. I had been trying so hard to accelerate toward the supposed test of ¡°quality¡± that I hadn¡¯t truly considered what was happening around me and how dangerous it was. Now only about a football field length away, I could see how massive the water cyclone was, and I couldn¡¯t look away.


    A wave crashed into the currach, slamming me across the boat. I crashed into the opposite side, half falling out before Taranis¡¯ belt snagged on the side. Though my head and shoulders were actually down under the water, my belt, and dumb luck, had saved me from landing in the ocean, where I would have been without a boat, staring down the worst storm I had ever seen. I yanked myself back up, gasping for air.


    I had temporarily forgotten about how dangerous the turbulent waters were. That mistake had nearly cost me everything. If I had died, I would have reappeared back at the Heart-shaped pool, miles from my current position. What would I have done then?


    I shook myself out of my thoughts and moved back into position. I grabbed the sheet and tiller, watching as a wave crested close by. Using my newfound knowledge of how to work with the wind, I guided the currach into an arc that would directly intersect the wave¡¯s path.


    The currach flew into the air, the new angle preventing the ship from being rolled by the oncoming wall of water. That was the key, I realized. I needed to use the wind and the instruments on the boat to steer myself into the waves. I would still be able to make my way toward the storm, but slowly and carefully. My primary goal was to not capsize before I reached whatever ¡°finish line¡± Manny had in mind.


    It was no sooner than I thought about the end state of this test that the water spout made an accelerated turn in my direction. ¡°Ah, come on!¡± I shouted at the storm. ¡°Really?!¡±


    Powerless against the true power of the waterspout, I clutched the sides of the currach, holding on for dear life. At random increments, the boat was lifted into the air and then thrown back into the waves below. Despite the battering by the storm, I found myself mesmerized by the huge funnel looming above me. It seemed to stretch all the way into the heavens. For a split second, the whole world went quiet, before I was sucked up into the maelstrom, currach and all.

 Chapter 24: The Salmon of Capistrano (Bren)

    Day 14 of Midwinter, Sunset


    At Sea, Well of Wisdom


    Annwn


    I held tight to the currach as I sailed into the air, spinning violently. My sense of where the water ended and the sky began was completely upended. Anything that had been inside the boat had been ejected. The jib made a loud flapping noise that made me think it was badly damaged.


    I was soaked from head to toe. It felt like I was standing in the middle of a rainstorm, only the rain was pelting me from every direction. Now that I was inside the water spout, I had the same sensations I''d felt riding a rollercoaster, though thankfully I was too disoriented to be motion sick. I couldn¡¯t tell you how long I was flung about, but at one point, the amount of static electricity increased enough for me to feel the humming of my belt over the wind and rain.


    I saw the flash before I heard the sound. Somehow my body was slower to recognize the superheated plasma coursing through me than it was to nearly be ripped apart by the boom of thunder at point-blank range. While my logical mind knew exactly what the sound was, my human experience was sure that it was the end of the world, possibly the entire universe. The rumble pierced my brain and rattled my bones. Lightning blinded me.


    Needless to say, I was not prepared to be heated to what felt like fifty thousand degrees. I knew I should be dead. Luckily, the bolt of electricity seemed to be attracted directly to my belt. I wish I could describe the feeling accurately, but I was neither melted nor caught on fire by the lightning. Instead, I felt full to the brim with power.


    My eyes were still blind from the flash, but the halo of light I could see had changed from a bright white to a very familiar blue hue. I felt the energy stream from my body in all directions, and I suddenly knew what had happened. I had simply been a conduit for the lightning, taking it in, converting it, and sending it back out into the world. The belt had not only acted as a lightning rod, attracting the energy, but it had also increased the capacity of my energy reservoir.


    Thanks to my regeneration, the blur that pervaded my sight slowly began to improve, and I began to see exactly where I was. Vision and a falling sensation came together to paint a picture in my mind. The short version was that I had been expelled from the funnel cloud and shot into the sky. The longer version was that I still clung to the damaged currach. Holes riddled the sides and bottom of the boat. The water spout and ominous clouds that surrounded the storm were dissipating rapidly, spreading far and wide from a position in the sky that I could only guess was where I had released the energy of the bolt back out into the world.


    I was hurtling through the air in both a downward and outward trajectory. I estimated I was at least a thousand feet up into the air, and it was going to get pretty serious in about 10 seconds. If only I had chosen Mancer Savant as Cai had! My brother was able to control the speed of objects based on the amount of their kinetic and potential energies. While I could try it, I knew from painful experience that unfamiliar magic wasn¡¯t really the smartest thing to do when death was on the line.


    Instead, I did the only thing I could think of. I created a thick protective energy barrier around me and the currach, filling the holes in the boat. I even placed a barrier between myself and the vessel. The sea came at me faster and faster. I felt a sinking sensation in my stomach as I hit terminal velocity before it all went black.


    I''m not sure how long I was unconscious. Thankfully, none of the Bodach came for me while I was out. I supposed damaging your brain in a massive fall and going to sleep were two different things entirely when it comes to brain function. Of course, I wasn''t thinking any of these things while I was out cold. It wasn¡¯t until I came to and the sun was coming up that I began running through the nuances of my unconsciousness.


    My energy barrier seemed to have survived the fall, and my body had healed any of the injuries I had sustained in the storm. The boat, on the other hand, was trashed. The only thing keeping it afloat was my protective barriers. The jib sail was practically torn in two, and while I could turn the tiller, whatever was connected to the handle that lived beneath the water had broken off. I was adrift in placid water with no way to steer what was left of the currach.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    The sky was no longer dark. In fact, at that moment, I could see the sunrise over the nothingness lay to the east. That would have been the way back to Murias, had I had a working sail, or even a paddle. Everything in or on the boat had been destroyed or lost.


    I drifted for a time, trying to keep my eyes on the eastern horizon so that I could find my way back to shore...provided a miracle appeared to deliver me there. I could feel my temper rising, threatening my normal cool demeanor. Just as I was about to lose it, I heard running water. I felt the currach begin to travel in a westward current.


    Looking west, I saw the same thing that I saw facing east¡­endless water. Wait, no... not the same thing. There was the water and the horizon, but when I looked closer, I did notice a slight difference. To the west, in the direction of the rushing water, I could see some sort of hazy section between the placid ocean water and the sky. It wasn¡¯t until the sun rested on the western edge of the sky that I could identify what the sound and the haze truly were.


    As I traveled with the current, I got a closer look at what would be my inevitable demise. Annwn didn¡¯t appear to be a globe at all. The Otherworld appeared to be flat, and I had nearly arrived at the western edge where the water plummeted off the side. Eat your heart out flat-earthers!


    Despite my situation, I had to laugh. I guessed that I had at most 20-30 minutes before the boat literally fell off the side of the world. I needed to somehow reverse course.


    My mind flew into action. I could probably shoot a blast of energy in the opposite direction and use it to propel myself eastward. But how much it would work and for how long, I didn¡¯t know. And eventually, I would need food and water.


    Sticking my left hand into the water, I started to conjure up an energy blast. Before I could summon much energy, though, I was distracted by the sight of a large fish jumping from the abyss on the other side before falling back into nothing. It looked exactly like salmon from Earth, jumping upstream to mate... only this particular fish was the size of the currach I was currently sitting in.


    The first time it jumped, it fell back down into the abyss. Its second attempt was more successful. The salmon made it up onto the edge of the Well before disappearing under the surface of the water. I tried to remember the story Manny had shared with me before he ditched me... something about his Uncle Ogma and the salmon of the Well. I was so lost in thought that I was surprised to look up only to find the fish had surfaced next to the currach and was staring at me.


    ¡°Um¡­ Hello, large fish,¡± I said, my voice cracking. ¡°Fancy meeting you here.¡± The fish appeared to be studying me. I frantically focused on what I could remember of Manny¡¯s story.


    He had said, ¡°Ogma¡¯s wisdom came from the salmon he attracted with his velvet tongue. The fish connected him directly to the weave itself and granted a sort of divine inspiration.¡±


    It occurred to me that velvet tongue was another way to say someone was a smooth talker. Had Ogma read the salmon poetry or something?


    I decided it was worth a shot, and endeavored to take a stab at a stanza or two. After all, the fish was a captive audience and I could use some divine inspiration at the moment. My mind went to the first dramatic reference that the moment inspired. I cleared my throat and began.


    ¡°I would like to travel someplace warm. A place where the beer flows like wine. Where beautiful women instinctively flock like the salmon of Capistrano¡­¡± I paused, about to continue, when the fish splashed water into my face. ¡°What?¡± I said, flinching back.


    Okay, I thought. No movie lines, despite the obvious connections. Maybe some classic poetry¡­I cleared my throat again. ¡°There once was a man from Nantucket¡­¡± The salmon slammed its head into the boat, rocking it. I fell back away from the side.


    ¡°Okay, okay! I¡¯m sorry¡­ Jeesh. You have NO sense of humor.¡± I thought hard for something that wasn¡¯t just a collection of words. I''d never liked free verse, but writing rhymes wasn''t something I could do off the cuff. At a loss, I thought about how Morias and I used to write silly haikus for our restaurant servers over the years¡­


    I am a lost man,


    Always letting down my friends.


    Now, I am alone.


    The salmon shifted its position in the water so that it was looking at me from its right eye. It opened its mouth and I was briefly taken aback by the size of its many, many teeth. It let out a sound that I had never heard from an animal before like bubbles being released or drops of water slowly falling into a pool. I didn¡¯t know what the giant fish was trying to communicate, but I took the gesture to mean that I should continue.


    Manny is a prick,


    His boat is the worst.


    Now, I am alone


    I felt like I could keep going, now that my creative juices were flowing. But the salmon sounds increased, growing into a salmon song, one that I realized I could understand. It was strange, as the fish wasn''t speaking words. Instead, it conveyed a feeling that my mind seemed to know how to parse.


    We kept on like that for a time, speaking in different languages, but fully understanding one another. It was then, as I drifted closer and closer to the edge of the world, that I understood why this ocean was known as the Well of Wisdom.