The Power of Seven

by Peter R. Ellis

  A knock on the door brought September back to her own situation. She sat up on the edge of the bed.

  “Come in,” she called. The door opened and Sieffre entered bearing a tray of food. He laid it on the table.

  “There you are, September. Don’t forget to eat while you study Heulyn’s book.”

  “Thank you. What is everyone else doing? Do they think me rude for not joining them?”

  “Not at all,” Sieffre reassured her, “everyone knows that you have a great deal to learn about your task. They all have their own duties and of course there is the preparation for the long journey that must start soon for those who will accompany you to the Cysylltiad. Of course, Heulwen is giving her orders to those that aren’t Prif-cludyddau or mordeyrn. She says that we must review our defences now that we have your sister guiding the evil descending on us.”

  “How is she suggesting that we fight Malice?”

  “Malice?”

  “That’s what my sister calls herself. Mairwen was her real name but she died before it was given to her.”

  “Ah, I see. You have talked to her?”

  “Last night, on the roof, when she sent the comets.”

  “Which you defeated.”

  “It was just a trial. She wanted to see what I could do. She knows I can use the stone to defend myself but I don’t know how to stop the Malevolence from attacking the Land. She said I let my friends die to save myself.”

  “That’s not true. You saved us from the Cyhyraeth and again when we fought our way to the Arsyllfa.”

  September shook her head. Malice’s taunts had bitten her hard.

  “No, Malice was right. I saved myself but I couldn’t stop Gwrion, Elystan, Alawn, or Collen from being killed.” Tears rolled down her cheeks. Sieffre knelt beside the bed and looked up into her tear-stained face.

  “September, listen to me. Each of us knew we would be in danger. As it happened the attack by the Malevolence on the Arsyllfa was much worse than anyone anticipated. It was only through your power that any of us made it. Collen, Alawn, Elystan and Gwrion were all my friends and I grieve for them, but I know you did all you could to save us as well as protect yourself. None of us, not even the Mordeyrn could wield the power of the Maengolauseren as you have done, but one thing we all know from Heulyn’s record is that the Cludydd has a lot to learn before she can dismiss the evil from the whole of Gwlad.”

  September sniffed and smiled weakly.

  “Thank you, Sieffre, you’re so kind.”

  “It is not just kindness, September. Since we met I have come to like you a great deal. I don’t just want you to succeed in your task; I want you to be happy that you came to the Land.”

  His face was so close to hers. She leant forward and kissed his cheek. He pulled back and raised a hand to caress the place she had touched. Then he leant forward again and his lips touched hers. She felt a tingle which rippled down her spine.

  He rocked back on his knees and stood up. September felt a twinge of regret.

  “I must leave you to continue your study,” he said.

  “Of course,” she replied, wondering what would happen if she asked him to stay, “but don’t leave me alone for too long.”

  “I’ll stay close and make sure you are not disturbed. That will stop Heulwen sending me on a fool’s errand.” He backed to the door.

  September sat still for a moment considering what had just passed between them. Did Sieffre fancy her? She wasn’t used to men or boys being attracted to her; boys usually hurled insults at her. Did she fancy him? The kiss had given her a tingle of pleasure but she didn’t know what she should do. Sieffre was quite a bit older than her but still a young man, pretty fit and more mature than Tudfwlch. Why did she think of the young warrior? Was it just because he was another young man she had begun to get close to, and then lost? Could she afford to get close to Sieffre when he could fall to the Malevolence at any time? She shuddered. It was up to her. She must learn how to control the Maengolauseren and protect not just herself but Sieffre and everyone else. She turned back to the book, forgetting the food that Sieffre had delivered.

  She read page after page of Heulyn’s account of their slow journey through the forest heading south towards their encounter with the Malevolence. Day after day passed and more and more people joined them. The attacks by manifestations became more frequent and violent. September recognised descriptions of Adarllwchgwin and Pwca and Ceffyl dwr. There was a devastating visitation by a Cyhyraeth that killed many of Heulyn’s followers. There were descriptions of monsters that September had yet to meet; Cwn annwn, ghostly dogs that attacked during the heat of the day, and Llamhigwyn y dwr, giant, winged froglike creatures that rose from rivers and lakes. The travellers came to villages where the people had turned to evil and fought with them. Each time she was threatened, Breuddwyd drove off the attacks but seemed to have no more influence over the starstone than September had.

  Then the party reached a town on the banks of the Afon Gogleddol. There Heulyn organised the townspeople to defend themselves while Breuddwyd and the other followers rested. There were sporadic attacks by various manifestations but nothing like the concerted attacks that September had experienced here at the Arsyllfa. According to Heulyn, Breuddwyd experienced a crisis and shut herself inside a building. She wasn’t seen for three days, would not respond to Heulyn’s appeals nor did she seek food or water. When at last the door to her room opened, Heulyn and everyone else was astounded by the change in the Cludydd. She glowed with an inner light the colour of the Maengolauseren and her talents had been transformed. She seemed to embody the skills of the cludyddau of all the metals – she healed the sick as did the cludydd o arian; where before she had shunned contact with Heulyn’s followers now she encouraged them like a cludydd o alcam; she stood beside Heulyn radiating goodness and power like a cludydd o aur; she imbued the simple weapons of haearn wielded by the townspeople with the power to defeat the manifestations of the Malevolence like a cludydd o haearn; when next they were attacked by a Draig tân she absorbed the fires like a cludydd o plwm; she changed into a river dolphin to race to fight a Ceffyl dwr like a cludydd o arian byw; and finally she communicated with the people across the Land like a cludydd o efyddyn.

  September read of Breuddwyd’s exploits with growing excitement. What had happened to the Cludydd during the three days she was locked away? Heulyn was unable to report what had occurred as all Breuddwyd would say was that she had been amongst the stars. From that time on Breuddwyd was transformed. She and Heulyn together organised the growing army as it travelled on southwards, but Heulyn’s account of the journey itself seemed not to include the Cludydd. She reappeared whenever the party was in danger but at other times seemed to be absent and Heulyn recorded tales of her performing great deeds all across the Land. Gradually however, the growing size of Heulyn’s force began to draw the majority of the attacks and Breuddwyd spent more and more time with Heulyn fighting off the manifestations and the bands of humans turned to evil. They had reached the southern river when September paused in her reading.

  She was excited. Could she become transformed as Breuddwyd had been? How did Breuddwyd achieve the change in herself? What had happened to her locked inside the hut?

  She heard a frantic knocking on her door.

  “Come in,” she said. As she had hoped, it was Sieffre. When he saw the untouched tray of food he frowned.

  “You have not eaten, September. Hours have passed since I brought it to you. I thought you may be ready to eat again and perhaps come out and speak to people.”

  “I’m sorry, Sieffre. I was so involved in Heulyn’s story that I forgot the time and didn’t feel hungry.” Enclosed in the windowless room with specks of starstone providing a uniform light, she had not noticed that night had fallen.

  “But you must eat, September. You have just completed a long and difficult journey and soon you will have to set off again.”

  “Set off again?”

  “The
Conjunction. The meeting with the Malevolence beyond the mountains.”

  “Oh, yes,” September didn’t want to think about that part of her task.

  “The Mordeyrn is already talking about travelling to the Mynydd Tywyll to meet the miners providing him with the aur to replace his plate.”

  September knew she wasn’t ready for another long trek and that she wouldn’t be until she had transformed like Breuddwyd had done.

  “And what of the others?”

  “The other Prif-cludydd will travel with him and the mordeyrns from the regions will return to their peoples and help them prepare.”

  “What is Heulwen going to do? I bet she has plans.”

  “She is talking of staying by your side to help the ‘fight between the twins’ as she calls it.”

  “I wonder?”

  “Wonder what, September?”

  “Which twin she will help.”

  “You cannot mean it.”

  “What?”

  “That Heulwen may be on the side of Malice.”

  “No, I suppose not, but she seems too fond of giving her own orders than actually supporting me.”

  “She just wants to be at the centre of things, to earn her father’s approval.”

  “Yes, you’re right, I’m being a bitch.”

  “A what?”

  “Not a nice person.”

  “I do understand. Heulwen does not always bring out the good in a person. But now, what about you? Are you coming to the dining hall to eat or do you want me to bring some fresh food?”

  September thought about what she had read and of the expectant crowd of people awaiting her below.

  “No, I’m not ready to meet everyone. The book has shown me what I must do.”

  Sieffre looked excited.

  “You have learnt how to wield all the powers of the Maengolauseren?”

  September was reluctant to dash his hopes.

  “No, not yet, but I have read enough to know what I must do, I think.”

  “What is that?”

  “Well, not meeting with everyone else is one thing.”

  “Yes.”

  “And I must stay alone, undisturbed for as long as I need.”

  “Undisturbed?”

  “Yes, I must lock myself away here, so no one can get in until I am ready to come out.”

  “Ah, now I understand.”

  “What?”

  “Why this room, of all the rooms in the Arsyllfa, has bolts on the inside of its door, and no other way in.” Sieffre crossed the room and pointed out the heavy iron bolts around the door.

  “When these are shut no-one will be able to enter, not even a cludydd o haearn. They were put in place by Heulyn himself.”

  “That was foresighted of him.”

  “And now I understand what the Mordeyrn said when he instructed me to watch over you.”

  “What was that?”

  “He told me to do whatever you asked even if it seemed strange, such as if you were wanting to hide from me and everyone else.”

  “I don’t want to hide from you, just keep apart until I have done what I can. Aurddolen has read the book and understands.”

  “So when I leave you will lock the door?”

  September was certain that she must copy Breuddwyd and close herself away, although the thought of being locked up scared her.

  “Yes, that’s it.”

  “In that case let me replace your food so that you have some sustenance during your ordeal, whatever it may be.”

  “Thank you, but do not tell anyone but Aurddolen what I am doing, or let anyone come banging on the door.”

  “I will do as you ask, September.” Sieffre picked up the tray of food and hurried from the room. September closed the door behind him and began to push the heavy bolts across. She had decided that she was not going to await Sieffre’s return. According to Heulyn’s record Breuddwyd had not had food during her vigil. September decided to be as much like her mother as she could be. She lay flat on the bed, her legs stretched out, her arms by her side, looking up at the ceiling.

  What now, she thought, do I just wait for a miracle to happen? I’ll probably just fall asleep, and then wake up in the morning feeling silly. She stared at the ceiling and the little glowing lights, listening to her breathing and the blood rushing through her ears.

  There was a knock on the door and the handle rattled but the door did not move. She heard Sieffre’s muffled voice through the thick heavy wood. His words were indistinct but she knew he would be anxious and annoyed that she had locked the door before he had returned with her supper. September had to resist the temptation to let him in. She covered her ears with her hands so she couldn’t hear a thing. After a few moments she tentatively dropped her hands. There were no sounds from outside the door. Had Sieffre gone or was he resuming his watch in the corridor?

  She lay quietly again. What did Breuddwyd do when she was alone? How were they similar? Breuddwyd had been locked in a hut by the river while she was here at the top of the mountain. They had both been on difficult journeys but in different directions in different regions of the Land. They were both scared and confused and bewildered by the task that lay in front of them. They both had the Maengolauseren. Of course, that was the one thing that linked them across the years both here and at home.

  September removed the silver chain from around her neck and flicked open the locket. The stone was clear and dark. She held it up and looked through it to the ceiling. She could see a few of the glowing lights, their pattern distorted by the curvature of the stone so that they resembled the stars in the night sky. She moved the stone a little. The specks of light grew in number but the space between them became darker. It was like looking up into space, as if the ceiling and roof of the Arsyllfa had melted away. She drew the stone closer to her eye. The blackness of space wrapped around her, the sphere of stars surrounding her. The bed and the room had gone. She was floating in space.

  4

  September looked around herself. She couldn’t really believe it but she was definitely in space. The stars shone all around her in numbers greater than she had ever seen but between them there was darkness blacker than the sky could ever be on Earth; and yet she could breathe – or rather, she wasn’t struggling to draw breath. She was still holding the starstone in her hand but it was no longer in its silver casing. A thin haze of bright pale blue surrounded her arms and legs and body but she could not feel the dress against her skin anymore. She was clothed in light. Was it somehow protecting her from the hard vacuum of space? She looked down at her feet and there, way below, was the planet Earth, or Daear, looking just like it did in those NASA pictures. Its blue and white looked so beautiful but she couldn’t make out the shapes of the continents beneath the clouds. It was so far away, the size of a football at her feet. As she looked she realised that the Earth was getting smaller, receding. She was travelling through space but totally unaware of movement. She twisted her head around and there above her was the Sun, an unbearably bright, golden white sphere and to the left a thin crescent moon, already bigger than the Earth and growing visibly larger as she watched.

  Was she dreaming? A month or so ago she would have been certain of it but after weeks of living in the dream, or nightmare, of her journey across Gwlad she was prepared to accept almost any experience as real. So here she was, travelling at great speed through the emptiness of space and feeling quite comfortable.

  The Moon appeared to turn as it grew so that soon she was heading towards the fully lit sphere. The Moon shone with silver light. There were darker patches as seen from Earth but now they appeared to be just shadows over the silver surface. September wriggled until she turned herself to face her destination. The Moon grew so that it filled her field of vision. For a moment she did feel that she was falling. She closed her eyes.

  She opened them again to find herself standing on the silver surface of the Moon. It didn’t look at all like the pictures of the Apollo astronauts. The su
rface was smooth and polished; there were no mountains or craters to be seen just the perfect curve of an horizon which seemed very close. Directly overhead was the brilliant Sun in a black sky. Stars were visible away from the dazzling brightness. Still September felt comfortable and had no trouble breathing. She was surrounded by a glow that was bluer than the reflected light of the Moon.

  What happens now? She thought. I’m here, on the Moon, but why? As the questions passed through her head she noticed figures approaching her from the horizon all around her. They were pale translucent beings, almost impossible to see against the silver light of the Moon. As they got closer September saw that they were people; women to be precise. They looked very similar to each other. All had long flowing silver hair, silver skin and they each wore a long silver dress. Their facial features differed slightly. One face was familiar; it was the face of Arianwen. Then she saw Arianrhod, the other silver bearer she had met. They were at the head of a crowd of ghosts that clustered around her.

  “Welcome, Cludydd o Maengolauseren,” the spirit that resembled Arianrhod said.

  “Hello. Who are you?” September replied.

  “We are the spirits of all the cludydd o arian, living or who have ever lived. We are the essence of their characters, their link with the power of Lleuad.” September looked around the throng of thousands, perhaps millions of figures. Perhaps, she thought, the ones at the front are the ones still alive on Earth, including Arianrhod and Arianwen.

  “Why have you brought me here?”

  “We did not summon you. You travelled here by your own power, the power of the Maengolauseren, but we were expecting you.”

  “I was just looking through the stone and trying to work out how I can become a real Cludydd and carry out the task that everyone says I must do,” September said, feeling confused.

  “We understand,” Arianrhod said, “You were summoned to banish the Malevolence from within the sphere of stars. You have faced many dangers and the Maengolauseren has protected you but to accomplish your task you must learn to control its powers and those of the other bodies within the universe.”