by Tim Flanagan
Edgar left the children and continued on ahead looking for a more suitable resting place as well as plants to forage food from. Before long he returned with a look of excitement in his face.
‘Come quick,’ he said to the children beckoning them to follow him.
Wearily they stood up and climbed back onto the path trying to keep up with Edgar’s retreating figure. The path continued as it had done before, but as they rounded a corner the trees thinned out even more and the sun shone directly into their eyes. Before them were the ruins of an old building.
‘This was the Golden Hall of King Ulfric, one of the ancient kings of the Underworld and guardians of the grey wolf. The community he led were known as Caniards, or wolf herders, and they lived in the forest protecting the wolves and their magic,’ explained Edgar excitedly.
‘Looks like a pile of old stones to me,’ muttered Joe to Max.
They all took cautious steps out of the forest canopy and into the opening amongst the half remaining walls and pillars. Edgar leapt up onto a wall like a young child in a playground. Looking beneath his feet he spotted something on the ground, jumped back down and picked it up. He examined it closely then showed the children the gold engraving on a broken tile.
‘I remember Hadwyn telling me about this place. It must have been an amazing sight to see with its golden roof shining amongst the green and red of the forest,’ Edgar continued.
In front of them were two thick columns of wood. At the top of each column was a large carving of a wolf supporting a wooden archway on its padded feet. Some of the carvings shaped into the arch were also coloured with various shades of red and green and nuggets of gold were studded into the eyes of beasts and creatures that wrapped their way through the complicated and detailed lettering. As they walked beneath the archway, they entered what would have been the entrance to the Golden Hall. At the other end of the hall they could see the remnants of a stone seat, elevated on steps higher than the floor. Immediately to their left was a pedestal with a stone circular basin on top filled with crystal clear rainwater that sparkled in the sunlight, the rays of light danced across its surface. All four of them eagerly walked up to the basin to drink and refresh their faces. Scarlet and Joe sat down with their backs against the remains of a stone wall out of the direct sunlight, whilst Max continued to look around. Edgar went off once more to forage for food.
Max walked up to the throne and discovered a winding staircase that went down into the rock. He could see the steps didn’t continue for long before reaching a flat surface which went under the floor of the great hall.
He ventured carefully down the steps. He could see where rainwater had collected allowing moss and ferns to grow. At the bottom was a wooden door which swung open easily. Inside the room was a wooden chest as well as a pile of grey fur animal skins. Max slid the fur that lay on top of the chest onto the floor and lifted the heavy lid. Inside were thick bladed swords with wolf faces carved into the golden handles, pale opal stones in place of the wolf’s eyes. Max lifted a sword out. It was heavier than he had expected, but as he began to get used to it the weight disappeared until it became a natural extension of his arm.
‘Joe! Scarlet!’ he shouted up to the other two so they could see the treasure he had found. He lifted some more swords out of the chest and gently placed them on top of the pile of skins near the door. The swords had been resting on more skins, but these were hairless and had been sewn together into hooded cloaks. The surface of them was intricately decorated with many different pictures burnt into the leather.
‘Max?’ Scarlet shouted from above.
‘Down here.’
The other two children ventured down the steps and stood next to Max. Joe excitedly picked up a sword but Scarlet was more interested in the cloaks. She lifted one up and threw it around her shoulders then carefully brought the hood over her head.
‘Scarlet?’ Max asked, a note of weariness in his voice. He knew he was looking at where Scarlet had been just seconds before but as soon as she had put the hood over her head she had vanished, but not completely. If he hadn’t been looking Max wouldn’t have noticed anything, but Scarlet appeared to have taken on the same colour and pattern as the wall behind her, but if he looked carefully he could just about see the outline of her. It was like looking through a slightly distorted piece of glass.
‘Cool,’ said Joe as he picked one up and did the same. ‘Camouflage cloaks. This is amazing.’
The children took the swords, cloaks and skins back to the hall and waited for Edgar to return. They sat down on top of the wolf skins as they were more comfortable than the bare stone floor and continued to examine the swords and play with the cloaks.
3. In the Sight of Danger
As they sat eating the food Edgar had foraged, they were feeling reasonably upbeat. Having the chance to sit down, rest their weary legs and eat some more food, even if it was just berries again, lifted their spirits. They took more long drafts of water from the stone bowl near the entrance to the Hall and stretched their bodies out on the soft fur, relaxing in the sunlight. In the background the ever present volcano continued to rumble.
Edgar was intrigued by the children’s find and secretly glad that they had more weapons with them as well as the camouflage cloaks. Luckily there were enough for all four of them. The smallest ones fitted the children, whilst the longest covered all of Edgar except his boots; they had obviously been made for a shorter breed of person. Amazingly they had found that the only way to see someone wearing a cloak was to wear one as well.
‘They must be made out of wolf skin,’ said Edgar as he examined one. He traced the burnt markings with his finger, trying to decipher what the lettering said or work out the significance of the symbols and pictures that covered every part of the cloak. ‘Although it makes you invisible, if you look closely you can still see the outline of the wearer. It’s more like camouflage. Like a lot of other animals, wolves can remain hidden in their environment whilst stalking their prey. I suppose these cloaks must work in a similar way, blending you into the background.’
‘Do you think that Peter would be able to see us if we wore them?’ Scarlet asked.
‘Yes. Because he is one of the few from our world who have the unique gift of The Sight he can see anything that is magical, including these cloaks,’ replied Edgar.
‘What about other wolves?’ asked Joe as he pushed a handful of sweet juicy berries into his mouth, ‘would they be able to see us if we had a cloak on?’
‘If they’re made from wolf skin, wolves would probably be able to see us too.’
‘Would they work in our own world?’ Joe asked as he chewed.
‘I'm not sure.’
There was a gap in their conversation as they all tucked into more berries. Edgar had also managed to find some wild mushrooms which made a welcome change to the fruit. He knew they would have to move again soon if they were to reach the waters of Pollwiddon Cove before nightfall. They could then cross into the Land of the faerie queen after a good night’s sleep.
‘What do you think happened here?’ Max interrupted Edgar’s thoughts.
They looked around at the fallen rows of stone walls lying on the ground. What would have once been a great and wonderful sight had crumbled into a ruin, hidden within a forest that, over the years, would slowly reclaim the land for itself.
‘I’ve never been to this world before but many others that I knew had, including Hadwyn. All I can recall are stories the travellers told when I was a young knight; and that, as you know, was a very long time ago,’ Edgar smiled as the children nodded.
‘I remember talk of the Caniards, the wolf herders, and stories that mentioned the magnificent golden hall,’ he continued. ‘They were a friendly race of people, but very private. Many travellers exchanged goods with them to be able to cross the water into the faerie world. In the beginning they lived a life in the forest that was simple, living off the land itself. They were a community of farmers using the slop
es of the forest which were fertile from the ash and lava of the volcano, to grow their crops. They grew many varieties of vegetables but it was said that they were continually attacked by neighbouring communities searching for food, as well as losing still more of their crops to animals. Being an ancient community they possessed the unique ability to talk to wolves through mind thoughts, so, to protect themselves and their crops they herded a pack of wolves together to live amongst them as tame animals. Each Caniard paired with a wolf for life and the two would rarely be separated. It is believed that wolves can see into the future, a gift they shared with their Caniard companion. Why they could not predict the downfall of their own future I do not know. Certainly before the portals were sealed, the Caniards were said to be a successful community. Finding these swords and camouflage cloaks would indicate that they were forced to take up arms and defend themselves at some point, but, as these crumbled walls suggest, they did not win the fight.’
‘So why did they have a golden roof on their hall?’ Max asked.
‘It became a symbol of their wealth over the years. Now that their crops weren’t being eaten by animals or invaded by other communities they had a product that everyone needed: food. Trading food for other goods meant they slowly began to acquire wealth. The golden roof was a sign that they were prosperous as well as acting as a beacon to the rest of the faerie world, almost like a shop advertising board, that showed traders the way to their hall to exchange goods. It was also probably constructed in honour of the sun god, without who their crops would fail and their livelihood would suffer.’
‘It seems strange that a group of people who were successful farmers and traders should end like this,’ said Max sadly, ‘especially with the protection of the wolves.’
Edgar nodded, sadly looking at the fallen stone walls.
There was something nagging at the back of Scarlet’s mind that made her feel uncomfortable and none of the others seemed to have mentioned it. ‘If the Caniards died or their community became broken down, what happened to the wolves?’ she asked.
It seemed an obvious question, but one that had not occurred to the others.
‘I suppose they would have returned to the wild,’ said Edgar with an edge of fear in his voice, ‘and gone back into the woods.’ Edgar had overlooked the most logical assumption about the wolves and if they had returned to the forest they would probably still see the golden hall as the heart of their territory. Edgar suddenly realised that they could all be in incredible danger.
He stood up slowly and drew the sword from his belt. Although there was still a grumbling noise coming from the volcano in the distance, he was suddenly aware of another low sound coming from the edge of the forest. He turned and stared hard into shadows cast by the trees. Staring straight back at him were two amber coloured eyes not moving or blinking, but watching Edgar intently. A large grey wolf, its head bent low beneath its shoulders, slowly walked out from the shadows towards one of the outer ruined walls of the great hall. The wolf’s eyes never stopped staring at Edgar; it was watching every single move that he made.
The children stood up to see what Edgar was looking at then froze with terror. Despite them wearing the camouflage cloaks they realised that the wolf could clearly see them. The wolf now stopped walking and its top lip retracted back revealing a large set of yellow teeth. It gave a warning snarl at them but didn’t advance any further. Max looked around them. He could see at least three other wolves emerging from the edge of the forest whilst behind the ruins an older and greyer looking wolf leapt up the hill from one rocky ledge to another. It too had its eyes locked on Edgar. They were surrounded from all sides and he knew an attack would soon follow. He might be able to protect himself and the children from one wolf, but not from a hungry pack of five. Once they began to attack they would stand no chance.
Edgar positioned himself between the children and the wolf that had come out of the forest first. It looked like it was going to spring towards them whilst the others blocked any escape routes.
The wolf knew the time had come and lurched forward with lightening speed, its eyes never moving from its prey. As it sprang onto a low wall, it propelled its body high into the air, curved claws protruded from the thick padded feet ready to pounce onto Edgar and pin him to the ground. Edgar readied his sword and even the children had their swords levelled at the wolf ready to fight.
4. The Caniards
What happened next was a blur of movement that was almost too fast to understand. In mid leap the body of the wolf was suddenly plucked from the air and a great gust of wind knocked Edgar and the children onto the ground. Sunlight was momentarily blocked as an enormous pair of feathered wings flew over them, carrying the wolf towards a higher part of the ruins. The rest of the pack of wolves immediately forgot about Edgar and the children and headed towards the fight that was now happening on the ruins of what had once been a circular tower. An enormous bird with the head and wings of a giant eagle and the body of a lion was now wrestling with the wolf it had taken.
‘A griffin!’ said Edgar with amazement. He realised that they had probably been spared an attack from the griffin themselves by wearing the camouflage cloaks, and from the air it would have looked like they were not there at all. Edgar’s first instinct was to run away as fast as possible, but something was stopping him. Strangely the older wolf that had made its way up the rocky side of the hill beneath them had not joined in the fight and was sat quite casually at the edge of the ruined outer wall like an obedient dog waiting for its master. Although Scarlet knew that it was dangerous, she couldn’t help but feel sorry for this old greying wolf. Around its mouth and nose she could see the battle scars from previous fights amongst the grey fur. Curiously, there were shapes cut into the skin around the edge of the ears and on its back; just above the rear left leg, a peculiar pattern was cut into the fur. It appeared to be a circle with a vertical line dividing the circle in half. From that three further lines went off to meet the outside of the circle. It reminded her of the markings that a farmer would put on his sheep.
Scarlet turned to Edgar: ‘Can't we help them?' she pleaded.
'Are you insane!' shouted Max.
The griffin was struggling to get a grip on the first wolf. With four wolves biting at its legs it lost its balance and toppled from the tower onto the floor of the great hall. Its wings flapped excitedly creating a draft of air that blew dust into the eyes of the children. The griffin had fallen with the first wolf which was now pinned helplessly beneath its front claws in line with the deadly curved beak. The other wolves rapidly began to descend the tower, leaping from ruined wall to piles of stone, trying to get back to their pack member before the griffin struck.
Edgar studied Scarlet’s face then stood up and picked a small rock from the ground. He threw it at the griffin and it struck a stinging blow on the side of the head causing it to break its concentration on the wolf. Although the griffin turned to where the rock had come from, it could not see Edgar. He then started to bang his sword against the wall nearest to him, making a loud metallic clattering sound. The griffin was confused. The children realised that Edgar was trying to scare the griffin away so they too began hitting their swords against the stones as well as stamp their feet on the ground. To the griffin the rhythmic thudding and high pitched metallic clashing appeared to be coming from the air itself. The other wolves had now circled the giant bird and were beginning to attack it once again. With a massive beat of its wings the griffin decided to take flight back into the air where it was safe and let out an ear piercing defiant call as it flew off in the direction of the volcano.
The first wolf slowly lifted itself back onto its legs. There was a nasty gash across its shoulders where the claws of the griffin had struck. Together with the other three wolves that had been fighting they advanced once again towards Edgar and the children.
‘Great,’ said Joe nervously, ‘we’re right back where we started.’
Edgar got himself ready once mor
e for an attack, but the wolves curiously stopped and sat down at a safe distance in front of them. The injured wolf started licking itself and cleaning its wounds whilst the others seemed to be looking where the older wolf was sitting. From the corner of his eye Edgar noticed that beside the older grey wolf there now stood a short lady who was clothed entirely in wolf skin. Her hair, which was dark grey, hung down across her shoulders and was twisted in ornate plaits. The eyes that examined Edgar and the children were as intense as those of the old wolf that sat obediently by her side. Edgar wondered if this was one of the ancient Caniards that he had heard of, together with her companion wolf. He put down his sword to show that he posed no threat to her or the wolves and the children reluctantly copied.
‘We have not seen your like for a very long time,’ the soft and gentle voice of the lady finally broke the silence.
‘You remember my kind?’ asked Edgar surprised.
‘Your sword I recognise,’ she pointed to the ground at Edgar’s feet.
Edgar looked down to Ethera.
‘My name is Sir Edgar Gorlois,’ he said, ‘Duke of Tintagel and knight of King Arthur. We have come from the human world.’
‘Be careful knight when you say Arthur’s name in the Underworld. There are many here that still remember the ancient feud of faeries and man and they would happily banish you back to the world you came from, bit by bit.’