The Power of Seven

by Peter R. Ellis

  “You have recovered,” Cynwal said, “we are relieved.”

  September pulled herself into a sitting position.

  “I hope that wasn’t real,” she said.

  “No, like all your tasks that was an imaginary situation,” Padarn said, “but if, stars forbid, the Malevolence gained mastery over Daear then it is a possibility.”

  “But it achieved its purpose,” Cynwal went on, “it forced you to consider the emotion that is the essence of Sadwrn.”

  “I couldn’t see how being sad was useful.”

  “You thought that sorrow was a negative, destructive emotion that would disable rather than empower you,” Cynwal said, nodding gravely.

  “That’s right,”

  “Anguish and despair are indeed powerful emotions used by the Malevolence to render people incapable of resistance. Sorrow however is that feeling one experiences when faced by a loss of goodness or in the presence of evil and thus provides a defence against corruption and depravity. Sadwrn reinforces that protection and plwm gives us the ability to shield us from the wicked forces.”

  “I think I see. If I feel sad then that is warning that something evil may be happening.”

  “That is correct, Cludydd.”

  “But why, in your task, did all my other powers fail? None of the other feelings had any effect.”

  Padarn had been listening carefully but now answered September’s question.

  “That is because our purpose was two-fold. In addition to revealing the secrets of plwm, your visit to Sadwrn, being the last of the seven planets, had to show you how all the emotions, planets and metals are linked. In you they form a unique omnipotence that no normal inhabitant of Gwlad can possess. Only you, Cludydd, can wield all the powers of the planets and metals at once. This is the source of our hope that you can persevere against the Malevolence.”

  Once upon a time, September would have been overwhelmed by such expectation of her, but now she felt confident. She could feel all the emotions roiling inside her giving her the potential to wield the powers of all seven metals in addition to the Maengolauseren itself.

  “I see.”

  “But you also should understand that the emotions complement each other – sorrow and joy, compassion and anger, the steadfastness of love with unexpected surprise, hope and fear, Sadwrn with Iau, Lleuad and Mawrth, Gwener and Mercher and lastly Haul with the stars. Each will support the other making you more powerful than any single cludydd, however talented.”

  “Thank you.”

  “No, we must thank you. You have proved yourself in each of the tasks. Now the power of the planets and stars is awakened in you. You truly are the Cludydd o Maengolauseren.”

  “You must leave us now,” Cynwal said, “to follow your own will and choose your own path to confront the Malevolence. You are free but the powers of the stars and planets will always be with you. We wish you well and pray that you are successful in your endeavour.”

  The grey throng faded, merging with the greyness of the saturnine landscape. The sound of their farewells became like echoes diminishing to silence until September was left standing alone still contemplating what she had been told. Her training was complete. All the powers of this universe were hers. She could feel the energies of each of the planets flowing through her like electric currents. Her arms, legs, body and head tingled. She recalled that Padarn had referred to the seven emotions of the planets plus one more – fear. It was fear that she had used to ignite a response from the starstone when she was attacked. Now she understood that fear did not paralyse or turn her into a nervous wreck. Fear made her focus on the danger that threatened her, speeded up her thinking, gave her courage to respond. To fear evil was good.

  What should she do now? Cynwal said she was free to do what she wanted. They seemed confident that she was equipped to fight off the Malevolence at the Conjunction. Except, she realised now, not one of the spirits of the cludyddau on any of the planets had mentioned Malice. Her twin didn’t feature in their thoughts. Only she could figure out how her sister would affect the plans. More information was needed, but from where? Well, she had visited all the planets. That only left the stars, the source of the power of the Maengolauseren. Her mind was made up. She leapt into space reaching for the sphere of stars.

  Which star should she head for? There were thousands forming the sphere that shielded the solar system from the evil beyond. The sphere of stars rotated at huge speed. She could match their motion effortlessly but there was one star that was special. Cynddylig had pointed it out as they crossed the lake; the star that didn’t move, the Pole Star, the star about which the sky turned. She looked for Daear, a distant disc in the centre of the universe, and above the North Pole, a bright point amongst many. Instantly she was moving towards her destination at an inconceivable but unfelt speed. The sphere of stars span past her in a blur but the Pole Star was a fixed point ahead.

  She had expected the stars to be like the Sun but, of course, the astronomers of old Earth and of Gwlad had no reason to suspect that each of the glowing points in the sky was a vast fiery ball of gas. They weren’t. The sphere that was the Pole Star grew as she approached but was nothing like as huge as the Sun, nor was it hot. It was simply a light in the sky, one of the innumerable similar lamps that marked the boundary of the universe.

  September’s feet touched a surface that gave out a uniform blue-white light. It was cool and hard. No figures came to greet her. The Cludyddau o Maengolauseren that had come before her were inhabitants of her universe, not this one. She looked up. Displayed before her was the Solar System, the Daear at its centre and the seven planets including the Sun and Moon moving on their orbits around it, and beyond them the other hemisphere of stars fixed to the rotating sphere. It was like looking at a model of the universe, small and fragile and so unlike the concept of the universe she had grown up with.

  There was no consciousness here amongst the stars but there was emotion. Fear. Fear of what was beyond, on the outside. That fear made the starstone glow in her hand, a miniature star. She had to test the fear. How far could she venture beyond the sphere of stars? She felt strong, full of the power of the universe that was above her head. Perhaps she could defeat the Malevolence on its own territory.

  She leapt from the surface of the star and ventured into the space beyond. All the light and warmth and life of the universe was behind now; ahead was darkness. There was no feeling of crossing a boundary, no physical barrier at all, but she knew she had crossed a line.

  At first it was just a faint murmuring like the buzzing of a distant swarm of bees, but as she ventured further into the darkness the sound in her head grew. Her birthmark began to itch. Then she began to sense it; the feeling, the emotion. Hate. There was no colour or gradation to it, just pure, black hatred. It was directed at the shining ball of myriad lights that was now behind her and it was all round her.

  Her hip began to burn. The bitter screams of individual spirits could be identified now although their number was too great for her to count. The formless wraiths flew past her, heading for the light like moths towards a lamp. Some began to sense her and pause in their flight. They were drawn to her. Now she was the focus of their spite. The message spread amongst them. More and more crowded around her. She was pelted with their hate like cold hard hailstones falling from storm clouds. She summoned up a feeling of sorrow and drew on the power of Saturn to shield herself from the hateful sprites.

  Would Malice appear to defend the realm of the Malevolence from her incursion? It appeared she wouldn’t as more and more of the vengeful spirits hammered at her barrier. Her hip was really hurting now. She winced and panted trying to fight against the pain. Even with her shield of metaphorical plwm she felt the overwhelming hatred of the collective evil that was the Malevolence. What Aurddolen and the others had told was correct. There was no personality to it, no deliberate consciousness, just atoms of hatred. There was still no sign of Malice.

  The pain was so bad n
ow that she had to put a stop to it. Could she destroy all of the spirits of evil? She opened the palm of her hand and looked into the dazzling blue light of the starstone. The Malevolence certainly scared her and that was what she needed to invoke her command. She imbued it with all the energy she could summon.

  “Ymadaelwch! Be gone!”

  The sphere of blue grew from the stone in her hand and in an instant expanded. The spirits were blown away. The sphere grew and grew, sweeping out a space in the dark as large as the solar system, and stopped.

  The blue light died and at once the spirits flocked into her again. Their hate redoubled.

  Again she cried out and again the power of the Maengolauseren blew away the wisps of the Malevolence but she couldn’t make it last. Her sphere of influence died and straight away the evil filled the space. She knew then that the cludyddau had been right. The Malevolence could not be destroyed. Its realm of darkness was infinite. Any power would drain away to nothingness in the dimensionless vastness. The hope was to evict it from within the sphere of stars and now she had to admit that was the limit of her power. She must return to the universe of good and perform her task there.

  With her side hurting as if it was on fire despite her protective shield, she turned back to the distant light of the stars. The spirits hassled her like jackals after a wildebeest but she was still strong. The sphere of sparkling lights grew until they were around her and she was through the system of planets with Daear ahead of her. She was glad of the reassurance of the stars surrounding her and the familiar planets.

  The pain in her hip subsided and she threw off her shield. Now she knew the extent of the Malevolence, the countless immortal souls that constituted the evil. She was aware of her limitations, but she still felt her power and knew that she could rid the Land of the evil, so long as she could defeat her twin – or turn her away from wickedness. She kicked towards Daear.

  7

  She was lying on a soft surface. September opened her eyes and saw the ceiling with the little glowing lights and the colourful wall hangings. She was back in her room at the Arsyllfa, back in the blue dress. Had she dreamt all that had happened to her out in space? The starstone was back in its silver locket resting between her breasts, the iron knife, Tudfwlch’s sword, the copper horn and the vial of mercury lay on the table as before. How long had she been asleep? She didn’t feel hungry, just a little thirsty perhaps.

  She got up and went to the bathroom. She turned the tap on the bath but no water came out. That was unexpected but she wasn’t troubled. Sieffre would get her some water; she was sure he would still be waiting patiently outside the door. The bolts were heavy and stiff but first the top then the bottom yielded to her. She pulled the heavy door open, took a step into the corridor and recoiled.

  There was no roof overhead and rubble from the wall opposite was scattered across the floor of the corridor. Beyond, the outer wall of the Arsyllfa was breached. She could see daylight and clouds. A cold wind blew through the holes in the walls and made her shiver.

  “So the Cludydd returns!”

  September turned to see who had spoken. She recognised the voice. Standing at the end of the ruined corridor was Heulwen in her golden yellow dress and beside her stood Malice.

  “What has happened?”

  “Can’t you see? The Arsyllfa has fallen, as I said it would,” Malice sneered.

  “How?”

  “My powers plus a little help from my friend.” Malice gave Heulwen a wink. Heulwen was impassive, standing still, eyes unblinking.

  “No! Heulwen. What happened to you? What did you do?”

  “She won’t answer you. She only responds to me now. Not even her father could reach her.”

  “Aurddolen? Where is he?”

  “Oh, he ran away. Couldn’t face up to me. I’ll catch him soon and then his soul will be just one amongst all the others that I command.”

  “He’s alive?”

  “I suppose you would call it that.”

  “Why was I left here alone?”

  “You were locked in that damned room. It has resisted even my power. But now you have made my task easier. Instead of hiding away you have come out to play.”

  “I wasn’t hiding. I wasn’t there.”

  “No? Where were you then?”

  “Among the stars.”

  Malice looked surprised.

  “I’m not the same as when we met before,” September said, unfastening the clasp that held the Maengolauseren. She let the stone drop into her hand. “I’ve been learning what I can do.”

  “Oh, really. Let’s see what you can do about this.” Malice flung a bolt of night-dark shadow that seemed like a rip in space. September felt sorrow and deflected it with a shield of plwm, then summoning up hope she answered with a beam of gold light. It hit Malice in the chest throwing her back. She landed amongst the rubble. Heulwen still stood unmoving. Malice picked herself up.

  “So you have learnt to use the puny metals that these people wield. Well, let’s see how good you are against my elemental forces.” She raised her arms to the open roof. Three Adarllwchgwin soared down from the sky, the riders with their tridents raised to shoot their cosmic fire.

  A surge of anger filled September and she flicked her fingers. Red-hot arrows of haearn raced to their targets. Each of the giant birds burst in a cloud of vapour. She raised the starstone and a violet cone of light formed, enveloping her twin. Malice twisted and clenched her fists as if in agony until she stretched her arms wide and the violet light disappeared. Malice stood, her chest heaving.

  “Perhaps you have gained a little in power,” she said.

  “I’ve only just started,” September said, feeling the power of all the planets and stars within her. She hadn’t dreamed her tour of the universe, or, if it was a dream, then it was one that had given her control over her emotions and all the energies in the universe.

  “And so have I,” Malice cried. She waved her hands and from each end of the corridor a pack of baying dogs appeared. They flickered and were translucent as if they were made of flame. Each was bigger than a Rottweiler and when they opened their jaws to bark and pant, smoke and flame was emitted. They loped towards her, howling, but Heulwen stood in their path.

  September jumped and took the form of the blue-feathered eagle. The tips of her wings brushed the stone that remained of the walls as she swooped along the corridor. She opened her talons and grabbed Heulwen’s shoulders, lifting her from the path of the dogs. Her wings pushed down on the air and she soared up into the sky, out of the ruined Arsyllfa. With her eagle eyes she saw the flaming, ghostly hounds gazing up at her, whining. Malice looked up with fierce anger on her face.

  September flapped her wings again and left the Arsyllfa behind and below her. Heulwen dangled uncomplaining from her claws but September worried that the sharp points must be piercing her skin. She must land to release her burden. Spiralling down around the peak that the observatory stood on, down into the valley, she looked and listened.

  “Is anyone there?” she asked through the loving power of efyddyn. There was a faint response. She turned towards it. There in a cleft in the rock at the base of the cliff, a figure crouched. She slowed, catching air in her wings, hovering, laying Heulwen down gently on the ground, then landing on her feet.

  September turned back into her normal self, the self that she had been on the planets; the self clothed in blue light. The figure emerged from the gap in the rock face. Sieffre looked exhausted, covered in dust and dried blood, his clothes in tatters.

  “Cludydd?”

  “It’s me, Sieffre; September.”

  He saw Heulwen lying on the ground and stepped back.

  “You brought her. Why?”

  “It’s Aurddolen’s daughter, Heulwen. Don’t you recognise her? Malice had her. She might have died.” September went to Heulwen and felt her body. It was warm but her eyes, though open, were unseeing. Blood oozed from the gouges in her shoulders made by September’s
claws.

  “She has died. She’s a servant of the Malevolence.”

  “She’s hurt.” September knelt beside Heulwen and pressed the starstone against her wounds and let compassion well up inside her.

  “She betrayed us, betrayed her father.”

  “Malice said Heulwen was a friend. I didn’t believe her. She must have forced her somehow.” The blood stopped flowing, the wounds filled up, new skin formed and the bruising faded. Heulwen looked healed but still lay silently staring.

  Sieffre shrugged and sagged. He sat on the ground and looked up at September, noticing the radiant blue covering her body.

  “You’ve changed. I can sense a new power in you.”

  “I have and there is.”

  “You were locked inside the room while we fought for the Arsyllfa.”

  “I wasn’t there. At least part of me wasn’t. As far as I was aware I was visiting the planets, tackling the tasks they gave me.”

  “They?”

  “The spirits of the cludydds that live on each of the planets.”

  “Oh. You were shut up for so long; we thought you must have died. We couldn’t open the door.”

  “How long?”

  “Six, seven days.”

  “A week! It didn’t feel anything like that time. I haven’t eaten anything. I still don’t feel hungry.”

  “That’s good, because I have no food.”

  September span a web of silver around Heulwen and wished her to recover. Then she sat facing Sieffre. She looked at his thin, haggard face.

  “Tell me what happened.”

  He took a deep breath and looked up anxiously at the peak and the ruins of the Arsyllfa.

  “After I found you had locked the door I stayed in the corridor. Aurddolen said he had expected that you would shut yourself away and that we should not expect to see you for a few days. He continued to prepare for the journey. Other cludyddau came and went, and she,” he pointed at Heulwen, “kept turning up asking for news. There wasn’t any of course.”

  “What was happening outside? Did the attacks carry on?”