Coming to his own feet, Colin brushed himself off. "What in the name of the Three Gods was that!?"
"The Light!" Odary exclaimed, taking deep breaths. "Elwin has been tested. That must have been the Testing, and the Light has found him to be impure. He is gone."
"No!" Leina cried out. She ran out of the room with an enormous burst of energy. Taking both Colin and Odary by surprise, the two hesitated, then chased after her. Just outside the door, Colin ran into Aidan, Rodan, and Kayno. They all looked shocked and surprised.
"Hold on," said Kayno grabbing hold of Colin. Odary raced past. "What's going on? And where is Leina off too in such a blasted hurry?"
"It's Elwin! I have to stop Leina!" Then Colin pulled free and went after Leina. Not sure what was happening, the others followed Colin. In moments Colin, then the others, passed up the much older and slower Odary, but Leina was still far ahead.
Leina led them on a chase down into the depth of the castle and into the caves below. Colin had no doubts where she was leading them. She was going back down to the Chapel of the Sun.
Just behind Leina, Colin burst into the chapel. She had run faster than Colin would have guessed. "Leina!" he cried breathing hard after the chase down to the chapel.
She turned her head. "Look Colin!" She pointed. Her voice trembled. The Sun Door had exploded into dust and rubble, a dark cave lay beyond. "The Light has opened the way." Colin stopped and stared, then he took a step closer. He looked at the door or what was left of it. Then Colin turned his eyes down onto Leina. With growing concern, he narrowed his eyes with suspicion. "What do you mean to do?" There was an accusing tone to his voice.
"Go after Elwin. I must!”
Colin shook his head. "You can't. I will go."
"I have to be the one, Colin!"
"You must be kept safe! I let Elwin go, and look what happened. If I had done something, he would still be alive."
So, it wasn't just me he was mad at, Leina realized. He blames himself too. "You could not have stopped him." She now understood why Colin had been in such a foul mood. "It was not your fault." Finally, Aidan, Rodan, and Kayno burst in, skidding to a stop.
Leina looked over at them. Moving swiftly, Colin placed himself between Leina and the door. He squared his wide shoulders, almost daring Leina to try to get past him.
"What in the name of the Three Gods!?" exclaimed Kayno seeing the shattered door.
"I am going after Elwin," Colin announced.
"What!" exclaimed Aidan! "Are you serious?"
Pallas stepped forward. "I will go with you."
"All of us will," added Rodan.
No one, except Leina, objected.
"You won't live!" Leina stated as bluntly as she could. "Not one of you would ever return. Now, let me pass." She turned slowly to face Colin. "Please, Colin. I am the only one with a chance."
Colin's eyes were hard, but Leina could see the pain behind them. Colin shook his head. "It is better that I die than you. It is my duty. I failed Elwin. I won't fail you too!"
"Blast your duty," snapped Leina. "He is my brother!"
Odary was the next to arrive. He was breathing hard. "The Light be praised," he managed to say between raspy gasps. "The Light has opened the way." He gulped in more air. "What are you waiting for? Go Leina, the Light awaits you!"
Leina looked over her shoulder then back to Colin. Colin shook his head. "No!"
"Please, Colin. Let me pass."
"No," he repeated. "I will not let you."
"She must," stated Odary. "Leina must go forward. The Light is calling her."
"He speaks the truth," added Cerise, who suddenly appeared, coming into the chapel. She was closely followed by the rest of the Council of Elders. "The Light has brought down the door so she could go in. Elwin thought to prevent us from entering, but the Light always opens new ways.”
"No!" demanded Colin. Drawing his sword taking a menacing stance. "Elwin is still in there." He nodded his head at the shattered doorway. "If he is alive, I have to help him."
Ryence set a lamp down on the altar. "You’re being a fool, young man. Elwin is no more. Your youthful heroics are wasted on the dead."
"I don't care," snapped Colin, turning his hard eyes onto Ryence. "Leina is not going in there!"
"Stand aside!" ordered Gelon. He stepped forward. Gently but forcible, he pushed Leina aside. "The Prince is dead. He has failed. Leina will be High Queen as she was meant to be."
Colin shook his head again. "I can go after him. I must. I have sworn to protect him."
Gelon's eyes had a dangerous edge to them. "The Prince is dead. He came before the Light and was cast down. It was his choice. Now the Light has opened the way for Leina." He raised his right hand. His palm pointing towards Colin's chest. "I will not stand for this foolishness. Now stand aside or I will remove you. Permanently!" A light swiftly enveloped him. It sparkled and danced around him. The room filled with power and danger.
Rodan, Kayno, Aidan, and Pallas all jumped to join Colin.
Gelon scowled at them. "You cannot stand against me. I will cast you off like feathers in the wind. But if it is your wish to die... "
"Gelon?!!" Odary shouted in shocked surprise. "That will be enough! Remember your vows. Remember who ….”
"My vows mean nothing!" Gelon cut Odary off, "if the Light is not set free, nothing matters."
Pallas raised his sword. "We will not yield." Aidan slipped an arrow into his bow.
The tension in the small chapel grew until Leina could take it no longer. "Stop it!" she demanded angrily. Her eyes glared as they swept across the room. "All of you." Taking a step, she put herself between Gelon and the others. "You’re acting like children."
"Stand aside Leina, this is none of your business," Gelon said sternly.
Leina's turned on him. Her eyes were like daggers. "None of my businesses! Am I a child that you can send to her room?!" She rhetorically asked. "You would make me your queen, but not hear my words!"
"There is no time for this," Gelon retorted. "You must go forward."
"No," Leina returned. "I will not."
"What?" asked Gelon, taken aback. Genuine fear now registered across his face.
"You heard me! If you hurt any of my friends in any way, I will not go into the Hall of Fire! Not today or ever. You will not have a queen."
Gelon tensed. Finally, he dropped his hand. "The Light must be freed, Leina." He nodded angrily at the men behind her. "They cannot be allowed to stand in the way."
"And they won't, but it will be done my way. Understand?" When Gelon gave a nod of his head, Leina then turned and looked at hers' and her brother's friends. "I know you love him," Her voice now soft. "I do too. But you cannot go. Only an Ap Gruffydd can enter the Hall of Fire. I am the only one who can go. I must go. If Elwin is in there, I might be able to help him. Please, Colin, I have to do this."
Silently, Colin returned the Princess' stare, and then he lowered his sword. "Let me go with you."
She shook her head. "I can't, Colin. You cannot enter the Hall of Fire."
"We can go until we reach the Hall of Fire," suggested Aidan. "Surly that won't hurt, and we can help you until then."
She smiled but shook her head sadly. "My brother has picked good friends. But I must do this alone. If I am to be tested, I must stand alone. It is so written."
Colin was the hardest to convince, but in the end, he nodded his head as if he were witnessing the end of the world. Reluctantly, he stepped aside.
"Thank you," whispered Leina, placing a hand upon his shoulder. Staring at the floor, Colin did not answer.
"Hurry," urged Odary.
With a nodded, Leina stepped forward. Then her eyes went wide. "Elwin!" she gasped. Covered in dirt, Elwin stood in the doorway, his clothing was ripped and torn, and in several places he was bleeding. Using his sword as a crutch, he limped into the torch light of the room. No one breathed. Held under his free arm was a silver crown encased within crystal stone.
Kayno and Rodan smiled as if their son had just turned up from being lost.
Pallas, regretting that he had missed out on Elwin's adventure, gave a long whistle. Jael dropped to his knees. The other Guardians did the same. Noticeably, Gelon was the last. Bowing their heads, the Guardians placed two fingers to their foreheads and then rested an open palm upon their hearts. Then as if on some unseen cue, they said together. "The Light has awakened. He Who Was is again."
Elwin frowned. You may not be thanking me when you discover that your beloved god is not a god at all and that he is totally mad, the prince thought. And I have set him free. And worse is yet to come. Much worse. But rather than say any of that, he gave his friends a weak smile and then turned a cold hard stare onto the elders. "Rise, it is time for you to serve the High Prince and heir to the Crown of Kambrya." His voice thundered with power. "I have been tested and have spoken to the one god, and I know what must be done and where I must go." For the most part what Elwin was telling them was true. He was choosing his words carefully so that later none could say that he had lied. Yet the young prince realized he was misleading them. He also realized he did not care if he was misleading the Guardians of Light or not. After all, they had been misleading him for some time. Besides, Elwin rationalized, it was true that I have spoken to someone they think of as a god, and maybe he is a god. Who am I to say. And it is also true that he was told what needed to be done, at least, a part of it. However, it was Tuatha’s father who had told Elwin of the danger the world was in, and not the so called God of Light.
“Will you follow the orders of your god? Will you follow the chosen one of the Light?” The prince asked bluntly.
Reluctantly they each gave their consent. What choice did they have? They had spent their lives waiting for this moment. While it was true that they had hoped it would be Leina, who were they to question the will of their god.
"Good," Elwin replied with a cold stare. Then he went on choosing his words carefully, leaving out what he did not want the Guardians to know. "There is much to be done and little time. I have no time to be arguing. I have been told that the world is in great pearl. The God of Darkness will soon be set free.” Elwin left out that it would be him that would set the god free. “But there is hope; the God of Light has already been set free. I have set him free.” And he will destroy us all if I do not stop him. “Tuatha now prepares to battle the God of Darkness, Beli. But alone, the God of Light will fail. It has been shown to me. The world will be cast into eternal darkness if I do not do as I have been commanded. I must free the crown from its casing. I must become High King. To do so, I must return to Ceredigion. Only there can I become the High King and add the Light.”
His friends gasped. Elwin had insisted over and over that he would never be the High King, and now he suddenly seemed to be reaching for it, demanding it.
“How?” exclaimed Odary. His eyes were wide with wonder. “How, can you free the crown of the crystal stone?”
Elwin frowned, “When the time is right all will be revealed, but for now you will just have to trust me and the Light.” The truth was Elwin did not really know himself. "I have been told that what will be must be done. But I cannot speak of it now. The darkness has ears." If I told you the truth; if you knew what I am going to do, you would kill me now. Maybe you should. “Soon, I will be leaving. I have a new journey that I must take. I am going home.”
"No!" shouted Gelon "You cannot leave! We are the Guardians. Who are you to tell me … us what will be done?!"
Elwin dropped the sheath from his sword. The blade of Elwin’s sword glowed with a shimmering blue light, then it suddenly the light changed as it transformed into a soft green light. Elwin nodded to himself as if the green light was preferable to the blue. He felt the power of Earth Magic running through him and into the sword. His whole body shivered as he realized the power no longer came from the sword but from him. Me, he wanted to scream, it's coming through me! I am sending Earth Magic into the sword. May the Three Gods forgive me! It is me! Then without so much as a blink of his cold gaze upon the Guardians, Elwin raised the magical blade and pointed it towards Gelon. "By the Light, you will heed my words."
THE END
Earth Magic: A Kingdoms of Kambrya novel (The High King of Kambrya Book 1) Page 52