THE MORRIGAN CHRONICLES

ONE THOUSAND THREE hundred and eighty-five years. I had trouble grasping everything Emrys had told us but managed to hold myself together. The loss of so many. Us ultimately losing the battle we had fought. I even knew that we had been spelled into sleep but I thought it to be no more than a year or two. I could even accept ten. A hundred. One thousand three hundred and eighty-five years. I was no longer cold and hungry. I felt nothing. I was numb. I don’t know how long I stood like that. Nausea hit me as my head spun out of control, dropping me to my knees. I couldn’t panic in front of our people. I just needed to get my wits about me.

Warm hands gingerly touched my shoulders and helped me up. “Put your sword away and let’s get inside,” Neil said softly.

I looked at King Conall. He had his hands intertwined with Deidra’s. Gross. One more thing I had to endure on this damned day. His eyes met mine. I stiffened and put on the bravest face I could muster and nodded to him.

“Emrys, lead us into the shelter,” King Conall ordered.

We followed Emrys, not saying a word. There was no digesting this kind of information. You just had to sit there and wait, hoping that it would eventually make sense. One foot moved in front of another but I don’t know how. I felt hollow. Not paying attention, I stumbled on a rock. Neil caught my elbow and waist to keep me from toppling over. I grabbed his arm to steady myself. I kept walking for who knows how long and realized I was still holding his arm. I didn’t care. I felt that if I let go the world would spin so fast I’d fly off of it.

We were close to the lodging when Emrys stopped, turning to us. “There’s more to discuss but for now let’s get you settled. There are humans here that are on our side. I’ve gathered the bravest descendants of the Knights and the half-breed Druids I could find. We are not alone.”

Emrys stopped speaking aloud and began speaking to us in our minds, something he didn’t do very often. Only in times of great signifigance. “Tuatha de Danann hold strong. The Knights are human and the Druids I’ve gathered are the bastard children that were half Druid half human. Their Druid blood was diluted even more through time. They have pledged to help us and I believe them. As Gawain risked his life to do what was right I know there is great good in humanity. But, this would not be the first time we were betrayed. They are unaware of your strength and skill. Nor do they know much about you. You are of myth and legend to them. Do not fully trust them. I’ve told them you have a powerful King and are supernatural warriors forged by the Creator himself to fight the evils of the world. That is all that they know. Give them no more information about yourselves or me. We do not know what details could come back to haunt us.”

We made our way inside. I saw no fireplace but instantly felt warm. The scent of vanilla wafted faintly through the air. The floor was marble with thick rugs running down the center and the walls a highly polished dark wood. It was beautiful.

We entered into a large open hall. Long wooden tables with benches, enough to seat hundreds, filled the room. At the back table in the center sat another one of our treasures. The Cauldron of Dagda. The cauldron ensured that whomever ate from it never left wanting more. It supplied an endless amount of food. My eyes misted at the sight of it. Not because I knew my hunger would be satiated, but because it was a familiar sight. It represented home. A home that no longer existed, at least not one that I knew anymore.

We ate our fill. Afterwards, we were shown our living quarters, each of us with our own room. King Conall, Emrys and I met in what he called the library. The sun had long set but glass globes placed in the ceiling and on poles glowed bright. I preferred the candles I was used to, accompanied by a fire in a hearth. As long as I could remember I always found the warmth and flickering of the light comforting. This light felt harsh. Books lined the walls, floor to ceiling. A large desk at one end with a metal box on it. There were eight leather chairs surrounding a round table in the center of the room where we took seats.

King Conall wasted no time. “Emrys, explain to me how you were spelled to sleep along with us and yet you escaped.”

As a Teulu I am a King’s bodyguard. There are twelve of us. We are the most skilled in battle. Thankfully, after the massive losses we incurred, we at least had survived. I am the leader of the Teulu and always accompany the King in important matters. I was numb from the day’s events and felt ridiculous for not having thought the question myself. I guess that is why I am not King.

Emrys mirrored King Conall’s urgency in answering. “I was awakened ninety-seven years ago. I am unsure why or how. It was as it was with you. The Earth opened up and I saw all the Tuatha sleeping. I poured every ounce of my magic into trying to wake you, but nothing happened. I walked out and the Earth instantly closed. There was a leatherbound book encased in glass with Gawain’s letter telling of what had happened.”

Emrys rose and walked over to a shelf, lifting a glass case and bringing it to us. He opened the case and removed the book. Opening it, he slid out a piece that was unbound and handed it to us. I moved closer to the King so I could read it as well. I had to focus on not getting sidetracked by King Conall’s scent. Musk, Earth… man.

“This is the letter that was lying on top of the book when I came out. Read it for yourself.”

With all the Druids gone I have no way to break the sleeping spell the

Tuatha de Danann are under. I hope that by awakening the Mighty Emrys, Lord of all the Druids, you are able to break the spell and restore balance to the world, for evil outweighs good immensely at the moment and I fear all is lost.

Seek out Druantia, Queen of the Druids, Lady of the Lake, safe in the realm between twilight and night. She will give guidance where I have none.

She will lead you to me when the time comes. You will know I am friend when I speak the words, “Long lost friend. Long lost enemy. I am nothing more than a memory.”

What in the hell did that mean?

King Conall spoke my thought aloud. We were always in sync with one another. Well most of the time.

“Frak if I know.” Emrys rubbed his temples. I forgot how stressful this had been on him as well. I would need to check in on him later.

“Next question.” King Conall was on point and down to business. “What does Neil have to do with this?”

Great question, King. Again, I was so behind playing catch up that I’d

lost all reasoning, it seemed.

Emrys took a long drink of water. “Getting to that. I planned to do what the note suggested. Getting to the land between twilight and night is not easy, though. It can only be entered on Samhain. It is now called Halloween. It is the day that our two realms are closest to one another. I assume whomever woke me knew that and did so the day before. When you enter on Samhain, regardless how long it may seem that you are there, minutes even, you come out on the following Samhain. One year.

I entered the other realm and was met by Queen of the Druids, Druantia. Lady of the Lake. I am not ashamed to say I was terrified at being alone and lost for what to do. I wept, and wept hard. She soothed me and told me that not all was lost. That there was still hope. How I was awakened was clouded to her. She was unable to see how it was done and that if she could not see, it must have been by a great magic. My quest was to attain the Stone of Fal. The true King of Erin, which would have to be a descendent of Arthur, would scream when he stood upon it. Once I had the true King, he could blow on the sacred horn of a sacrificed white bull that would awaken the Tuatha.”

Emrys took a bottle and poured a red liquid, wine, into a glass for each of us.

“Here,” he handed them to us. “This has been a great day for me. I know you are grieving and still trying to grasp everything that I’ve told you but I’ve had almost a hundred years to cope. I’ve been a hundred years without my family though, and I feel like celebrating.”

King Conall smiled and took a drink, as did I. The King softened and nodded. “Emrys, I am eternally grateful to you for awaking our people. Did

Druantia say what needs to be done or how we are to defeat Artaius?”

Nodding, Emrys continued. “She told me that I would need a great fortress, to gather the descendants of the Knights and Druids and that once the Tuatha arrived they would help train them for the great battle. But that it would still not be enough. We need to retrieve the sacred sword. The sword is the only weapon that can defeat Artaius. We just need to find the sword and have Neil formally give it back to you.”

I cut Emrys off. “The sword was sent to another realm. Do you know where?”

This time shaking his head, he expounded on the story. “No, I do not, but Druantia said that once I awaked you I was to bring Morrigan with me.

She promised by that time she would have the information on where it is and how to get it.”

Finally I felt like I had my wits back with me. “You said we could only enter the land between twilight and night on Samhain. How long until then?”

“Almost a year’s time. It is now December.” Emrys answered. But December meant nothing to me and I could tell he knew by my face.

Emrys sighed. “You know how we have the gift of communication? How we have always been able to enter a Great Oak and travel all over the entire Earth and even though we don’t speak the native languages of the people we come into contact with, we can understand them and they can understand us?”

“Of course.” I took another sip of the wine, noting how warm I felt inside.

He grinned at me and then at King Conall. “My friends, it has been a very long time and the world has changed much. So much that I fear you would not recognize it. We cannot get bogged down by such things, we have a large task before us. With your permission, I shall cast a spell tonight that when all Tuatha awake in the morning they will understand the workings of this world. A sort of—catch you up on the past thousand or so years.”

The King gave a weary smile. The day had taken its toll. “That would be fine, Emrys. Can you by chance include some comfort in that spell? I worry about my people.”

“I cannot take grief away, but I can offer hope. And the smallest spark of hope is all that we need in these great times of darkness,” he said as he stood and bowed. Emrys must have been in an excellent mood to show the King this level of respect.