The Tales of Amergin, Sea Druid

by Peter Green

  The wrath of MacCuacht was to be feared. Sceine’s very life was in danger!

  Their meeting was arranged for the following day. Everything was to be choreographed! Never was Sceine to be left on her own with MacCuacht. Her most loyal guard would chaperone her all the time.

  That evening she prayed and meditated, asking for the Great Spirit to guide her and to give her the strength needed on her journey of destiny.

  The arrival of MacCuacht and his hordes was heard long before they were seen. The regular, monotone, trudging, march of fully armed and armoured soldiers, climbing the narrow, precarious, perilous track high into the mountains of Sliebh Mis. An occasional sharp, staccato, military command cracked the cool, silent mountain air. A substantial force for an informal gathering, and for paying respects, thought Sceine. The high mountain fortress of Sliebh Mis was on high alert!

  MacCuacht arrived at the drawbridge. Sceine instructed all weaponry to be deposited at the gatehouse. She counted thirty soldiers armed to the teeth. Each one was disarmed, and then ushered in to the barracks, and a heavy guard installed.

  MacCuacht smiled at his sister, feigning the greeting of a much missed brother.

  Sceine was unnerved to see the presence of Eiru… not what she expected! What were the intentions of the witch? Her very presence distracted the royal guard… her dark lustrous beauty, attired in a shimmering cocoon like gown. Eiru stepped forward and bowed courteously before Sceine, “I am sorry for your troubles. Your father was a great man, and a guiding light to us all!”

  Still unnerved, and now in shock, Sceine thanked Eiru for her condolences. Even more unexpected was the withering, resentful glare Eiru received from her husband.

  Sceine, quick to recognise a potential ally, responded promptly, “Thank you Eiru! His light still guides us! His wisdom and his spirit will surely light up our lives for a long time to come. He will oversee us to our destiny! Praise the Great Spirit!”

  They gathered that night to give their respects to the High King Antiem. This was the first time Sceine had been in the presence of MacCuacht since Antiem’s funeral. She could feel the bitterness and resentment.

  MacCuacht kept Eiru close beside him. Sceine felt her unease as well… they must talk!

  Sceine instructed Sinbar, the master of the royal guard, to take MacCuacht and his commanders on a tour of the battlements and to Antiem’s war room. The war room was a sacred place, exclusive to Antiem, where he planned and strategised the military campaign to overthrow the Firbolg.

  MacCuacht was intrigued. This could be an opportunity to discover sacred secrets about the Firbolg, secrets that could be critical in the machinations of the dark Sidhe in the future.

  He followed the diplomatic Sinbar. Immediately Sceine approached Eiru and asked her to join her on the high balcony, to enjoy the last remains of a dark purple, crimson light over the western horizon. Deep black shadows crept into the valley. Eiru spoke first, “You have inherited the most beautiful and most majestic of the provinces. My husband is most envious.”

  She had broken the ice. Sceine was encouraged, “Yes, this is the most glorious of places and the most powerful of provinces. My brother has every right to be jealous!” Sceine offered a glass of the mountain berry liqueur ‘GraniaX’ to Eiru. Sip by sip they were relaxing in each other’s presence. The High Priestess of Xhara, Princess of the Western Province, vulnerable and exposed, opening her heart and mind to a witch implicated in the loss and corruption of the emissaries sent by the destined one, Amergin.

  “I must do this!” thought Sceine, “I must find out whether she is enemy or perhaps a most valuable ally.”

  “I appreciate your sentiments towards my dear departed father. I sense that my brother, your husband, does not harbour the same feelings, “pointed out Sceine.

  “Where do her allegiances lie?” she thought.

  Before the thought had parted from her, the answer was being given…

  “I have lost faith in my husband. His ways are controlled by the dark Sidhe!” Of course she is a mind reader, one of the three witches, who can probe the very recesses of the mind. Yet Sceine known for her powers of extra sensory perception could not penetrate Eiru’s thoughts. “A skill that has presumably kept her alive in the presence of MacCuacht and her sister witches.”

  Eiru continued, “I have seen my husband sink into the mire of the dark Sidhe. I have seen him succumb, lose his way, sell his soul to the dark Sidhe. I have seen him use those powers ruthlessly and mercilessly on his enemies, the Firbolg. He will not stop there. MacCuacht is prepared to infect all the portals across the known world, he is prepared to unleash the dark Sidhe, and vanquish the Guardians of Light.”

  All that Sceine had suspected of her brother, and knew deep within, was now confirmed. But how could this witch be an ally when, she was implicated with the demise of Bith, and the loss of Terese?

  Again the answer was forthcoming almost before the thought was formed,”When I encountered Bith, I felt the force for good, and my soul was bathed in the spiritual white light of the Guardians. I sensed the one who comes after him, the one that is destined for this land, destined to be with you. I felt the power of the spirit world, the good Sidhe, and their universal life force.”

  Sceine looked deep into Eiru’s eyes, she could not read her mind, but could see the truth before her. Eiru continued, “I released Bith in order that he could take his chances in returning to the Sea Druid Amergin, hopefully to warn the Milesians of the impending onslaught by the forces of the dark. I permitted Terese to commune with her Xantha sisterhood, and ultimately with the Guardians of Light. This, before my raven haired sisters took her soul in to the dark realm.”

  “This is exactly how it was!” thought Sceine, “I have an ally in Eiru!”

  Eiru smiled, just as an almighty hammering on the ancient oak door to the balcony shattered the peace and quiet contemplation of the moment.

  Eiru grabbed Sceine’s hand,”I cannot be found here! Alone in your company! He will suspect. He already has his doubts about my allegiance to the dark cause. Sceine you must trust in me…!”

  With that her silver shimmering cocooned form and raven hair, morphed and changed and transformed. Feathers of light, silver to white, circulating, swirling… bursts of photonic light… powerful wing beats… a great white tailed eagle was airborne… and soared from the balcony, over the battlements and was gone into the darkness of the night…“A shape-shifter! Magnificent! Such a magical, potent being! Such a powerful ally!” mused Sceine.

  Now to deal with her black-hearted brother…

  The hammering on the door continued,”Eiru, are you in there?!” Sceine’s brazen sibling remonstrated.

  Sceine quickly removed the glasses and the pitcher of GraniaX, and slid the bolt of the door back. She prepared for his interrogation, “There you are brother. How was your tour? I hope Sinbar was the perfect guide. Father’s war room is intriguing is it not?”

  Thrown by this performance, and he in turn could not read Sceine’s mind, “Yes it is… Where is my wife?” Flustered, and not a little confused, he strode into the room, searching the shadows. Before he could become the inquisitor, “Eiru was tired after the journey. We made our acquaintances and then I showed her your chambers. And you, you must be tired, and we have much to do tomorrow, “she ushered MacCuacht out of the door and towards their chambers, “I thank you for visiting and coming to pay your respects to our dear beloved father…”

  MacCuacht was put off balance by this consumate performance. He turned and with a typical dismissive gesture left to seek out Eiru.

  That night the Western Province bathed in the full and potent light of a harvest moon. The spirit of Antiem seemed to be omnipresent. All at Sliebh Mis were restless. The enlightened beings felt a dark and treacherous force in their presence. Each time a scudding cloud partially obscured the shimmering moonlight, Sceine started in her slumbers. She looked deep in to familiar shadows that now seemed threatening. Each dark reces
s seemed to take on other worldly qualities. She tossed and turned, reliving the encounter with her conspiratorial brother. And Eiru was she a kindred spirit?

  Sceine needed further reassurance that she was a friend to the Guardians of Light, and not on some surreptitious mission with the other witches of Hawardden. She sensed that Eiru was truthful about her disquiet over MacCuacht’s dark dealings.

  Shifting, slanting shadows caught her, now wakeful, attentions, the stark silver light of the full harvest moon diminishing over increasing, gathering, clouds. The heavy, ornately decorated drapes, half enveloping the window frames, billowed in a sudden gust. A storm front approaching, high altitude moisture particles diffracted and refracted the white moonlight into fractured rainbows of light.

  Sceine sat bolt upright as the next gust blew the drapes horizontal. The moonlight now blocked by a swift moving sihouette, pirouetting in a beating frenzy of wings, talons and feathers. Feather tips and white tail became a translucent, silver cocooned creation, reflecting the last vestiges of the stormbound moon… Eiru!!!

  Sceine had instinctively thrust the tip of a jewelled dagger at the jugular of this interloper.

  “Sceine, I did not mean to scare you. You are safe!”

  Sceine still needed to be convinced of her truthfulness. “Tell me why you are here! Be honest and be convincing!” Eiru read the intent on her face in her mind. “At this very moment MacCuacht is in collusion with the demons and denizens of the dark Sidhe. When the harvest moon is obscured by the oncoming storm front, he will go to the ancient portal of Hushinish. He will summon the dark Sidhe, and the onslaught will begin…”

  “This is as I feared Eiru… thank you for the warning! I must get to Hushinish before MacCuacht!”

  “I will take you. Nothing is faster than the mighty white-tailed eagle!” declared Eiru.

  Beyond the ramparts and castellations of the fortress of Sliebh Mis, high above the Ridge of Thormond, on a rocky outcrop, overlooking the entire Western Province was the ancient configuration of standing stones, the Portal of Hushinish. The portal aligned with all the other portals on the island of destiny, a network of lay lines across this magical, powerful land. The Western Province had the most powerful and strongest connections to the spirit world. MacCuacht marched there now…

  He knew that Hushinish was the source of her power in the Western Province, the place where the Guardians of Light could be summoned, to protect and defend the enlightened ones. He also knew that the portal was most vulnerable at certain times of the year, such as at the harvest moon, or when the kingdom was in transition, as at the time of Antiem’s death.

  The threatening storm will be the distraction he needed. The harvest moon will be obscured, and the veil of darkness will give time to channel the forces of the dark Sidhe. This would not be a temporal shift, but a permanent change. The universe of the dark Sidhe will pour forth from the Portal of Hushinish, the connection with the Guardians of Light broken forever.

  Sceine was aware of the danger. The portents were aligned for MacCuacht to make his treacherous moves. A dark, menacing storm front, twisted and rolled on the still moonlit western horizon. Time was of the essence. “You must take me now Eiru! MacCuacht approaches Hushinish! The darkness arrives! Go!”

  Sceine watched as Eiru’s body shape shifted and transformed. The lustrous translucent silver cocoon garment warped and morphed. Molecular and photonic light exuded from her very being, the brightness almost unbearable. Sceine turned her eyes away, her retinas burning. An explosion of light and her shape was transformed. The dark haired witch of Hawardden had become one of the mightiest raptors … the white-tailed eagle!

  Gripped by talons, they soared over the battlements, high into the leaden skies, away from Sliebh Mis. Sceine focused on the distant horizon, the Ridge of Thormond, and beyond that the rocky outcrop of Hushinish.

  There! Way below them, traversing the Ridge of Thormond were MacCuacht’s foraging soldiers. They were on course for Hushinish, and in time for the zenith of the full moon.

  Eiru with her avian super senses had seen them and with a few powerful wing beats ascended into the high altitude clouds to avoid detection.

  Sceine felt uneasy, she was being taken into the darkening, moisture laden storm wall. The dark forces were gathering. All her senses screamed to be returned to the comforting evening light.

  Over the ridge and away from the line of sight, Eiru swooped down, dropping like a stone out of the clouds.

  Silver shafts of moonlight picked out the rugged outcrop of Hushinish.

  All the peaks and summits, every significant feature seemed to point and pay homage to this sacred place. Every lay line, sacred and magnetic, spiritual and otherworldly, converged here. The stark silhouettes of the standing stone circle of Hushinish stood up on top of this mysterious place, a portal that brought the veil from the spirit world into the mortal realm.

  Only beings with a pure royal blood lineage could open the portal. MacCuacht and Sceine were such beings. Those blessed with the key to a portal were intended to use that key for the enlightenment of their race, the key to enter a universe of pure light and of unbounded good. Antiem their royal father would be turning in his grave if he knew the intentions of MacCuacht!

  MacCuacht planned to open a black universe, void of light, bereft of goodness. His soldiers of dark, some of the army of lost souls, were within striking of the Portal of Hushinish. MacCuacht strode onwards, his goal in sight. The evening light diminishing, the storm approaching, the moon nearing fullness, the moment arrives. He looked around… the distant fortress of Sliebh Mis… all quiet and unaware. He had deceived his sister, her trust in him misplaced… but that pleased him.

  His upper lip twisted in to something vaguely reminiscent of a smile,”This was his time! This was his rendezvous with the dark Sidhe, nothing to stop him!” So he thought…

  The shadows of the standing stone fell into alignment, the gate stones stood dark and sinister, black against the oncoming storm. The moon rose in completion of its cycle, above the outcrop. The moment was at hand.

  MacCuacht strode determinedly towards the stone circle. Standing between the gate stones, reaching skywards to touch the capstone, he would become the key. Here where the multiverses touch, he would choose the darkest. The mortal realm sentenced to eternal damnation, the Guardians of Light to eternal darkness. In his mind he was there… No one to stop him!

  The moon at fullness, the storm wall approaching. The silhouette of her brother… time stood still… everything in alignment…

  Sceine could feel the energy flowing, the universes touching. She sensed the Guardians with her. She felt their presence guiding Eiru as she beat her mighty wings. With powerful down beats she landed Sceine directly in to the stone circle, in reach of the gate stones. Immediately she straddled the giant Bluestones and reached skyward to touch the capstone!

  “Impossible!” screamed MacCuacht. He struck out to stop her… Her hand brushed the Bluestone, fingertips touching, charging, energising. White light poured forth, a divine radiance, a universe of love …

  Sceine stood defiantly before her now demented brother, “In the name of Antiem, you are banished from the Western Province, never return to Sliebh Mis!”

  MacCuacht recognised the nemesis that was his sister, cowed but not defeated, he was visibly shaken,

  “The dark forces still gather my beloved sister… I shall return!”

  The radiance repulsed him, his aura darkening even now…

  Eiru appeared in human form and disappeared in to the darkness…

  MacCuacht reluctantly retreated to the Ridge of Thormond.

  Sceine looked up to see the storm front dissipating… to be replaced by clear skies and constellations sparkling brighter than ever… the moon continued into the next lunar cycle…

  CHAPTER EIGHT:

  THE GLINT OF AN UNBLINKING EYE

  Amergin stirred from a deep slumber. He was one of those fortunate beings that could slee
p well regardless of the adversity. The memories and infinite flashes of other realities were still with him as he stirred from a dream of kaleidoscopic detail. Colours, universes, recognisable and unrecognisable beings, diaphanous tendrils of a dream state clung to him as he came back to a state of wakefulness.

  He has drifted to a place where universe collided with universe. He had seen Bith of the Chapter of Mystics, and Terese of the Xantha battling valiantly. His heart sunk at the loss of them in the cold light of day.

  Still struggling to distinguish reality from surreality, the visions of the dreams thinned and disappeared. But as the first rays of bright morning sunlight burst into his quarters, he had seen a vision of Sceine standing defiantly in a great portal, channeling light, a living conduit of pure energy…

  Amergin’s heart missed a beat, his mood and spirit uplifted. His body coursing with renewed vigour, his mind clear and the way forward clearly mapped.

  Fully awake now, in tune with the day unfolding before him… a fresh oceanic day, a bright clear light. A steady south-westerly breeze and a gentle undulating sea state, the clarity of the early morning light gave an infinity of vision, “How good it feels!” exclaimed Amergin, “Let us find the promised land!”

  He hung manfully on to the rigging as the royal vessel rolled in a steadily growing swell. He braced himself, and smiled in exhilaration. The bow broke a cresting wave, sending a fine, cooling, refreshing spray over his body. Amergin stood momentarily in a rainbow of sea spray, caught and illuminated by the low, crystal clear dawn rays of sunlight.

  The early shift, led by Xomas, was now aware of his presence. They smiled with Amergin and in unison yelled, “To the Promised Land!”

  One of those days when the ocean was alive and energizing, the tell tale living vortex of deep diving Gannets announced the presence of vast shoals of fish. On cue from the south-west came a charging, surging, pod of Common Dolphin, hundreds of them! They all watched in awe, as they leapt through the ocean, elegant, dynamic masters of the ocean, feeding and joining the frenzy with the diving Gannets.