Glasruhen Gate

by Catherine Cooper

  ‘Naw, we’ve done it all. Nora said we could start the barbecue as soon as you got back so come on, what you waiting for? It’s grub time.’

  Camelin took off and flew towards the house. As Jack passed the herborium he noticed a huge bundle of rhubarb, which had been neatly cut into sticks of about the same length, sticking out of the cauldron. By the time they reached the patio Camelin was arguing with Nora.

  ‘But I want to,’ he croaked.

  ‘It’s too dangerous, you’ve not had any practice. Let Jack do it.’

  Camelin turned to Jack.

  ‘She won’t let me light the barbecue. I can do it, I know I can. I’ve watched you make sparks and I’ve already made some. Please Jack, please let me try.’

  Nora shook her head and looked at Jack. He raised his hand to the tiny bald spot, where his hair used to stick up.

  ‘It’s OK with me if Camelin wants to do it, as long as he points his wand towards the barbecue.’

  ‘Aw Jack, you’re a real friend,’ said Camelin as he hopped around Jack’s legs before diving into the kitchen. Seconds later he was back with his wand.

  ‘Stand back,’ warned Nora.

  Camelin flew onto the picnic table and then shuffled into position. Jack smiled when he heard Camelin’s muffled command.

  ‘Fire one!’

  Nora gasped as a great flame shot from the end of Camelin’s wand.

  ‘Make it smaller!’ she shouted.

  ‘Why? I thought you wanted the fire lit?’

  ‘We do, but not like that! I think I’m going to take charge of your wand while we’re gone, it’ll be safer.’

  Camelin was about to start sulking again but then he caught sight of the tray of sausages in Elan’s hand.

  ‘Sausages, my favourite!’

  ‘What happens at the Midsummer Festival in Annwn?’ asked Jack.

  ‘It’s like any other fair,’ replied Elan. ‘There’ll be a big market with lots of stalls and fun things to do. All the best storytellers gather there and try to out-do each other. I remember last time there were jugglers, stilt walkers, all kinds of things.’

  ‘See, I told you,’ said Camelin as he landed on Jack’s shoulder. ‘Tell us about the food.’

  Nora laughed.

  ‘Is that all you ever think about? Well your supper’s ready when you are. You certainly got the charcoal good and hot. This lot’s cooked in no time.’

  Just before the sun began to sink, Nora made one final check to make sure they’d got everything they needed.

  ‘It’s time,’ she announced. ‘We need to go.’

  They set off for Glasruhen Forest. Jack and Elan carried the cauldron between them. His wand and Camelin’s were inside it next to the rhubarb stalks. As they passed the hedge Nora picked up a large bundle of branches.

  ‘Oak, beech, willow, birch and pine, for the ritual,’ she explained.

  ‘Where exactly is Glasruhen Gate?’ asked Jack.

  ‘That I don’t know,’ replied Nora.

  ‘But how will we find it?’

  ‘My Book of Shadows will guide us to the right place. It’ll be somewhere in Glasruhen Forest. It didn’t always move about, but when the troubles came the Blessed Council decided, for the safety of Annwn, that the gateways mustn’t remain fixed. Only the Sentinel Oaks know the position of the portals.’

  ‘Sentinel Oaks?’ asked Jack.

  ‘They guard the four gateways into Annwn, one on either side. It’s their branches which form the archway we’ll need to pass through.’

  Jack didn’t really understand what Nora was talking about. When they had left the yew tunnel behind and were approaching the edge of the forest, Nora stopped.

  ‘Here we are, time to swap over. You take my Book of Shadows and I’ll carry the cauldron with Elan.’

  Jack took Nora’s book and she passed him his wand. The two trees on the cover shimmered. They looked alive, more alive than some of the trees in Newton Gill Forest.

  ‘Use it like a compass,’ Nora told him. ‘Follow the pull, it’ll feel like a magnet.’

  The book felt as if it had a life of its own and Jack let it lead the way. They went deeper and deeper into the forest. He could feel a hundred eyes watching. Occasionally he caught a glimpse of a Dryad but no one blocked his way or spoke to him.

  The book stopped pulling and Jack looked up. He was in front of two ancient oaks. Their branches touched each other, making a natural archway.

  ‘I think we must be here,’ he said.

  ‘Well done Jack! I knew you could do it. Now, let’s get started, the light is fading fast.’

  ‘But the book said there’d be a tall gleaming gateway. There’s nothing like that here.’

  ‘These are the Sentinel Oaks,’ said Elan as she laid her hand on the nearest tree trunk. Once upon a time they would have greeted us, but they’ve been asleep for so long now it would take an age to wake them.’

  ‘Does that mean we can’t do the ritual?’

  ‘It’s not a problem, don’t worry Jack,’ Nora assured him. ‘With your magic we can open the gateway. Once we’ve performed the ritual all will be revealed.’

  It was alright Nora saying don’t worry, she’d performed lots of rituals. This was Jack’s first and he didn’t want anything to go wrong, especially since so much depended on him getting it right.

  Elan put her hand on his shoulder.

  ‘If it doesn’t work the first time we can try again. It’s not like the window in time. Now you’ve found it we can keep trying until it opens.’

  ‘Now if you don’t mind Jack, can you ask my Book of Shadows for the instructions to get this gateway open?’

  Jack’s wand felt familiar in his hand now. He pointed it at Nora’s book and commanded: ‘Show me the instructions for opening Glasruhen Gate.’

  The pages turned. Eventually they lay still and Jack read:

  Instructions for opening a Portal into Annwn

  To open up a Portal wide,

  Into Annwn’s fair countryside,

  The sacred Treasure must be sought,

  Then before the Sentinels brought.

  ‘We’ve done all that,’ complained Camelin. ‘What’s next?’

  ‘It’s alright Jack, don’t take any notice of him. What else does it say?’

  First put five branches in a row,

  And say the ritual words you know.

  Hold the Treasure from the shrine,

  Then let the golden acorn shine.

  Jack felt worried.

  ‘I don’t know any ritual words…’

  ‘I do,’ interrupted Nora. ‘All you have to do is will the gateway to appear, I’ll say the right words. Just keep concentrating and pointing your wand at the archway. We only want light, no sparks, is that clear?’

  Jack sighed.

  ‘I’ll try my best.’

  ‘Now Elan, take the five branches and lay them in order, starting from the other side of the sentinels, oak, beech, willow, birch and lastly the pine.’

  Elan laid the branches in between the two trees, making a green carpet on the bare forest floor. Nora passed Elan the acorn and she laid it in the centre of her open palm.

  ‘All is ready,’ announced Nora. ‘Let us begin.’

  Jack pointed his wand and willed the gateway to appear with all his might. Nora whispered some words Jack didn’t understand and a soft golden light began to glow from Elan’s palm. The harder Jack concentrated the brighter the acorn grew. He tried to keep a steady light at the end of his wand, but his hands were trembling. Without warning it seemed to erupt and a blinding light forced Jack’s eyes to close. He blinked then opened them again. Before him rose a pair of tall green doors. They were covered in golden carvings, which gleamed as brightly as the acorn.
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  ‘You did it!’ cried Camelin. ‘You did it!’

  ‘What a welcome sight,’ said Nora. ‘I’d begun to worry that we might not see Glasruhen Gate again.’

  ‘At last!’ sighed Elan. ‘Well done Jack, now there really is hope for us all.’

  Jack couldn’t take his eyes off the doors, which filled the archway between the two Sentinel Oaks. He’d never seen anything like them before.

  ‘What happens now?’ he asked.

  ‘We go through into Annwn,’ replied Elan.

  ‘We won’t be long, we’ll be back in a flash so you can wait here for us and then we’ll get you back home before 10 o’clock,’ fussed Nora. ‘I think we’ll take your wand with us too Jack, just in case. We don’t want any accidents, you really shouldn’t use it unsupervised.’

  Nora and Elan picked up the cauldron and stepped forward. As Nora passed Jack she paused and waited while he put his wand and her Book of Shadows inside the cauldron, next to Camelin’s wand.

  ‘Be good,’ she said as they stepped onto the first branch.

  A low rumbling noise filled the forest. The two doors parted and a green glow shone through the crack. When they stepped onto the second branch the doorway opened wider, then it creaked loudly, and finally swung open completely. Nora and Elan stepped onto the beech branch then disappeared.

  ‘Where’d they go?’ asked Camelin.

  ‘They just vanished.’

  Camelin hopped over to the first branch and peered into the greenness. Jack couldn’t move. He was still shaking.

  ‘What can you see?’

  ‘Nothing, come on, let’s go and have a look, just a quick peek, it won’t do any harm.’

  Jack wasn’t happy.

  ‘We can’t, we promised.’

  ‘Now that’s where you’re wrong, we didn’t promise anything.’

  ‘Weren’t you listening? It said in the book that we can’t enter until Samhain. If we do we’re in trouble.’

  ‘I was listening but it didn’t say anything about ravens, did it?’

  Jack shook his head and tried to protest, but Camelin continued.

  ‘Naw it didn’t. And we won’t have to walk over the branches we can fly through. What d’you say?’

  ‘Nora will be back soon. We’d better wait here as she asked us to. What would happen if she came back and found us gone?’

  ‘I want to go to the fair!’

  ‘So do I,’ piped a familiar voice.

  ‘And me too,’ said Charkle.

  ‘You followed us again,’ snapped Camelin.

  ‘Nobody said we couldn’t. You were supposed to come and tell us when you were going on another adventure,’ Timmery replied. ‘Don’t forget, we have secrets now.’

  Camelin frowned at the little bats.

  ‘Maybe my family went into Annwn, through one of the other gateways before they got closed. I can’t rest until I’ve searched everywhere. I’d like to go and look for them.’

  ‘Come on Jack, we can say we were helping Charkle. You did promise him that when the cauldron was remade we’d help him.’

  ‘I did,’ agreed Jack. ‘But…’

  ‘No buts, let’s transform now. We can leave your clothes here; no one’s going to find them. Close your eyes everyone.’

  Jack shook his feathers. He still wasn’t happy about going through Glasruhen Gate, even as a bird, but the green glow from the gateway did look inviting. And he too wanted to see the fair.

  ‘You promise we won’t be long, just a quick look. I told Orin I wouldn’t be late tonight.’

  ‘We’ll be back before you know it.’

  ‘Won’t it be dark in Annwn?’ asked Timmery. ‘The sun’s gone down now.’

  ‘Have a quick look for us and see what’s going on. If Nora’s still on the other side, she’ll see us straight away, but she won’t notice you.’

  ‘Ooh! The start of an adventure, I love adventures.’

  ‘I don’t think we’re going to be gone long enough for it to be an adventure Timmery,’ said Jack, but the little bat had already flitted into the green glow.

  ‘That was quick,’ said Camelin as Timmery re-appeared. ‘What’s it like? Was Nora there? Did anyone see you?’

  ‘Can’t see a thing, there’s bright sunlight on the other side.’

  ‘I’ll go,’ said Charkle. ‘I can see in daylight.’

  ‘Couldn’t you see anything at all?’ asked Camelin after Charkle had gone.

  Before Timmery could answer Charkle flitted back through the archway.

  ‘It’s safe to go through. I can’t see anyone around at all. It’s deserted.’

  ‘Deserted?’ croaked Camelin. ‘What d’you mean deserted? What about the fair?’

  ‘No fair, no people. Just hills and fields.’

  ‘Come on Jack, we need to go and see for ourselves. There has to be a fair.’

  Jack hesitated.

  ‘It’s alright for the rest of you, but if we get caught I’m the mortal. I’m the one who’ll be in trouble.’

  ‘They’d have to catch us first,’ laughed Camelin. ‘We can fly faster than anyone can run. Coming?’

  ‘I suppose so.’

  Timmery fluttered around the gateway.

  ‘What am I going to do? I can’t see a thing through there.’

  ‘Then you’ll have to stay here, Charkle can keep you company. We’ll tell you all about it when we get back,’ replied Camelin.

  ‘Or you could climb onto my back,’ said Jack. ‘But you’d have to hold tight.’

  ‘Oh I will Jack Brenin, I will. Thank you, thank you.’

  When Timmery had attached himself to Jack’s feathers Camelin hopped forward.

  ‘Ready?’

  ‘Ready,’ Timmery and Charkle replied.

  ‘How will we know when it’s time to come back?’ asked Jack

  ‘When we can’t eat anymore,’ chuckled Camelin. ‘Come on, let’s go and find that fair.’

  Jack watched as the others disappeared into the glowing green light. He hesitated for a moment before he took off and followed them through Glasruhen Gate.

  INTO ANNWN

  On the other side of the portal the green glow faded and was immediately replaced by dazzling sunshine. Undulating fields stretched as far as the eye could see to the left and right of a well-trodden pathway. Through the glare Jack could see that the sky was cornflower blue and dotted with slow moving clouds. The path snaked from the portal into the distance and eventually disappeared over the brow of a small hill. The only two trees near the gateway were the Sentinel Oaks. Camelin was perched on one of the lower branches.

  ‘Thought you’d changed your mind.’

  ‘Won’t the trees tell Nora what we’ve done?’

  ‘Naw, that lot in the forest have been sleeping for years and none of the Dryads followed us as far as the gateway.’

  ‘But what about the Sentinels?’

  ‘They haven’t stirred for hundreds of years. You’d need really strong magic to wake them.’

  Camelin danced around on the branch.

  ‘We’re here on official business,’ he croaked loudly then stopped and listened. ‘See, what’d I tell you, we don’t even know their names. They’re not going to wake up if we don’t address them properly.’

  Jack was relieved when the trees didn’t stir, he wasn’t sure that going to the fair would count as official business. He could see Camelin was getting impatient as he hopped from foot to foot.

  ‘Come on we’re wasting time. The fair must be near the Citadel and that’s got to be at the end of this path.’

  ‘I’m not sure we should go any further, you said we were only going to take a peek. And how do you know the Citadel’s that way?
’

  ‘Gwillam told me you couldn’t get lost in Annwn; all roads lead to the Glass Palace and that’s in the middle of the Citadel. Come on.’

  Before Jack could reply Camelin took off in the direction of the hill.

  ‘Are you coming Jack?’ asked Charkle. ‘What harm can it do just to take a look?’

  ‘Oh please Jack, let’s go and see now we’re here,’ piped Timmery.

  ‘I suppose a quick look can’t hurt, hold tight.’

  As Jack followed the path he had time to look at the fields below. No birds sang and he couldn’t see a single person. Maybe they were all at the fair, but there was a strange emptiness. The only sound was their beating wings.

  ‘I don’t like this,’ Jack shouted to Camelin. ‘Why is it all so quiet? Where is everyone?’

  Camelin had reached the top of the hill and landed on the grass.

  ‘Aw Jack, come and look at this!’

  Jack landed next to him. He was too amazed to speak.

  ‘What is it?’ asked Timmery. ‘What can you see?’

  ‘You can see for miles,’ Jack told him. ‘And it’s all so beautiful.’

  ‘See, it’s just like I said,’ croaked Camelin.

  ‘What is?’ piped Timmery.

  Jack took a deep breath before trying to describe to Timmery the most beautiful place he’d ever seen.

  ‘There’s a lake surrounded by great oaks and in the middle is a palace with four glass towers. There’s a flag flying from each turret…’

  ‘That’s the Citadel,’ Camelin interrupted.

  ‘… and behind the palace you can see the mountains…’

  ‘That’s where the Caves of Eternal Rest can be found,’ added Camelin knowledgeably. ‘That’s where the Druids go.’

  Jack sighed.

  ‘Who’s telling Timmery, you or me?’

  ‘Carry on please.’

  ‘There are villages, more hills and what looks like a swamp with a great mound and a ring of tall stones around it, like the ones on Glasruhen Hill.’

  ‘But best of all, there’s a fair,’ said Camelin. ‘That’s why it was so quiet, the whole of Annwn’s there.’

  ‘Those mountains look like the best place to start searching,’ said Charkle.