by Peter Green
Hour by hour, they drifted ever closer. The ebbing tide that took them out of the bay and in to the open ocean was slowing and slackening. A strange turbulence began to eddy around the vessels.
Cold, green vortices of slick water churned and boiled – the tide was turning... The breeze now in the south began to strengthen. The vessels of the Milesian fleet were rising and falling in a building swell. “Bring out the oars!” ordered Amergin. The oars were essential to keep the forward momentum going, to keep the prows pointed in the direction of the islands. The north to south tidal race on their journey out began to turn with the pushing tide. Within the hour it felt like the entire ocean was pushing northwards, pushing between the mainland and the Magine Islands.
Soon the tidal race was going at the speed of a galloping horse. The swell was rising exponentially as it met tidal race and strengthening wind. The turbulence became more and more chaotic.
Amergin took over from Xomas at the helm.With these sea conditions it was critical that he steer this vessel and lead all the other vessels on a true course for the islands. He checked with the watchman aloft, “How wide is this tidal race? Can you see the clearest way through?!” They were caught in the midst of the mayhem. The reply came back, “By my reckoning another three miles, my lord!”
They were being swept on a north-westerly trajectory away from the Magine Islands, into the vastness of the Northern Ocean. Amergin realised that the tidal race would eventually weaken, but they could be miles off course by then! He leaned hard on to the tiller and demanded, “More sail!”
He was trying to turn the prow into the south-west, sails and tiller bringing the vessel about. It was crucial to break out of the tidal race, and soon! They could lose a days sailing, waiting for the next tide to bring them back to the Magine Islands. The urgency of their mission weighed heavy on Amergin’s mind.
Now, to exacerbate matters the wind was veering in to the north. Amergin felt the squall and wind change before he saw it. Almost too late! He released the tiller and let the sail slacken. “Tacking!” he bellowed as the mighty oak boom cracked into position, nearly decapitating some of the crew on the way. The prow pointed straight into the tidal race. Amergin with Xomas the helmsman put their combined weights on the tiller. The vessel slowly resumed its south-westerly course. Now though, they had wind on tide!
The tidal race and prevailing swell going into the teeth of the North Wester! This caused the rolling 4-5 foot swell to rear up and become 10 foot monsters and increasing! The vessel was taking a real hiding. They could not sustain this for long! “How far to the other side of the race?” he anxiously quizzed the watch man, who was hanging on to the rigging for dear life, atop the violently undulating mast. He assessed the distance, “Another mile my lord!”
“More sail!” Amergin was gambling everything! Speed was of the essence! They must ride out the chaos! Surf the swell! It was finger tip control now, the tiller responding to every cresting wave and rearing swell. “The sea monsters of the Magine!” shouted Amergin to his helmsman Xomas, “No wonder the Tuathans haven’t ventured out here!” This was nature in the raw. “Half a mile!” shouted the watchman. Amergin could see the other side of the race ahead. Clear water, but at first the chaotic turbulence must be negotiated. A green-silver monster reared up ahead of them, “Brace your selves!” He turned the tiller. The prow pointed in to the cresting set wave, riding up and over in to the trough. Another followed and another... The localised swell and turbulent chaos gave them no time to react. They were sailing by instinct and their years of experience. Amergin feared for the less experienced helmsman and crew on the other vessels. He had no time to look, full concentration was required. Only when they were out of the tidal race could the damage be assessed. Punching and forcing through each and every wave, keeping the speed and momentum going. Skill and instinct, the master mariner’s of Milesia had their work cut out. The Sea Druid Amergin led the way. Rolling, riding, surfing and sailing, one last giant set wave and they were through! Free from the clutches of the river of the ocean. The sails billowed, the rigging strained and the vessel sped onwards in relatively clear water…
Amergin could now turn to watch his fellow Milesians. The tail-enders still fought furiously to be free from the tidal race. One by one they all reached the clear water! “Mighty sailors indeed!” roared Amergin in approval. He embraced Xomas, “To the Magine Islands helmsman! Make all haste!”
The freedom of the clear water, made sailing a joy, the North Wester pushed them along, the billowing sails now fully unfurled.The mysterious Magine Islands pinnacled and magnificent.
A cry came from aloft, “There my lord, a beacon!” Sure enough on the mightiest of the islands a beacon burned! They had found their fellow Milesians! In the blustery wind they could hear the sound of a resonating conch.
They rounded the first volcanic ridge that plunged into the oceanic depths. The fleet slid through green-black aqueous brine and a miriad sparkling organisms in a soup of life. An occasional Mackerel, shimmering, silvery scaled, surfaced, fed and was gone, sea life richer than the wildest imagination. Shafts of light penetrated deep into the oceanic universe.
Amergin and his fleet silently drifted through the slick, oily waters, oarsmen dipping occasionally.
The only sound was of breathing and the deep intake of ozone rich air. From mayhem to the sublime, each and every crewman gave their thanks to the Great Spirit for bringing them through. An occasional diving seabird was startled and sped off in a fury of frenzied wings and webbed feet... skipping across the surface and diving deep.
In the lee of the wind and swell, and the shadow of the igneous spires, with the gurgling, surging, breathing sounds of a heaving ocean in the deep, dark sea caves, each and every one of the Milesian mariners was lulled and mesmerised into a trance state. The sound of a conch broke the hypnotic silence. The oarsmen instinctively pulled as one in the direction of the signal sound. Beyond the sea stack, through a natural arch of rock, and around one more precipitous sea cliff... a sea cave the size of a cathedral, a massive high ceilinged chamber.Waters so deep. The cave walls immersed into the ocean and disappeared in to the depths.
The sound of the conch echoed in the cavernous space, the vessels drifted on and on, oars dipping here and a dip there. The sound of voices! A beacon lit up their way, the outline of moored vessels and the silhouette of busying people. Firelight and beacons illuminated the dark cavern and reflected off wavelets and dripping water. Amergin was mesmerised by the ethereal blue reflections from veins of quartzite. “Bluestone!” seams of Bluestone lined the high vaulted cavern. A passageway vented the drifting acrid smoke from the burning kelp. “There was a way through!”
One by one the vessels drew alongside the moored fleet. Tied and lashed together tightly. The entirety of the Milesian fleet together again in an enormous floating, gently heaving raft.
Amergin, Xomos, MacCuill and the rest of his crew leapt from boat to boat. Amergin’s heart raced at the prospect of meeting his parents... “My son!!” bellowed King Milidh, his booming baritone voice echoing repeatedly around the sea cave. Amergin laughed out aloud and embraced Milidh, “Father!” Scota grabbed his hand, “Mother …so good to see you both!” He kissed her cheek and knelt in homage to the royal blood line. “We have much to talk about, but first you must tell of this extraordinary place!” Scota sensed that her brave son would be leaving them soon. Saddened by this but overjoyed at being with him now... “We took refuge here during a storm, “Scota explained, “Fate, destiny, serendipity or however you might have it, brought us here to this incredible sea cave. We were able to land and fortuitously found the entrance above. “She pointed to where the smoke spiralled upwards.” Scota continued, “We naturally explored, and discovered an entrance, a gateway to an ancient temple! Workings that go back a thousand years and may not have been visited by anyone since that time!”
Amergin turned towards Milidh. They acknowledged the importance of the find. Amergin’s ass
umption that this place had never been visited by a Tuathan, in recent generations at least, was correct...
By the time Eiremhou had arrived and embraced both his mother and father, he had listened to the account of their experience. He held Scota’s hand and she kissed his forehead, “Eimbear, what of Eimbear!?” She knowingly sensed the truth about his alliance with Gonne. Eiremhou replied, “He is safe mother... but he is not with us... We will explain later mother. Please go on ...”
Scota sensed the urgency of this meeting, “The workings are of the purest Bluestone. From this stone a temple has been constructed. A temple that radiates the purest of Light! There are otherworldly forces at work here!”
“This place is known as the Portal of Sceilge!” Amergin interrupted his mother. Amergin proceeded to the passageway with Scota and Milidh. Eiremhou and MacCuill followed closely. They climbed a hundred and more, narrow, carved steps, hewn into the igneous rock.
Amergin explained all about the journey that he must embark on. He told them of Eimbear’s allegiance with Gonne and the mission that Terese of the Xantha was on. He then told them of his connection with Sceine, and how he must go to the Temple of Xhara to confront the dark one MacCuacht, Sceine’s traitorous brother. This sea voyage is key to the salvation of the Island of Destiny and essential for the fulfilment of the Prophecy...
They soon arrived at the Temple. The architectural workings of the mysterious ancient ones amazed Amergin. A ledge carved into the igneous spires of this magical island, the roaring, crashing ocean over two hundred feet below. On this ledge were five Bluestone standing stones of the purest quality, purer even than those of the Temple of the Sun, and the great Portal of Machlleth.
Pure, radiant Light warped and wrapped around the Bluestones. He too sensed the presence of the Guardians of Light and the closeness of the veil. Amergin told Scota and Milidh of the tales of the magical powers of this portal. He emphasised that this portal was perhaps the most powerful of all and must be guarded at all costs...
Amergin then announced, “I have to go now my dear parents. I ask you to stay here with the royal elite guard to protect this place...” He was struggling with his words, “I will take the rest of the Milesian fleet north and circumnavigate the Island of Destiny to get to the eastern shores before the dark one arrives at the Temple of Xhara. He will try to turn the dark Sidhe against the Priests of Xhara. Should they fall to the dark one and become in league with the army of lost souls, they will march on the Western Province and the great portals will be taken and the forces of the dark Sidhe unleashed from the spirit world ...”
Amergin asked to be left alone at the Portal of Sceilge for a while. He needed to meditate, to reflect on the events that had passed, and to focus on the sea journey to come. He knelt in front of the Temple, facing outwards to the infinite Northern Ocean and eastwards to the Island of Destiny.
He turned to watch Scota and Milidh descending into the narrow passageway, back to the cavern where the vessels were tied up. Scota saw him watching her and smiled knowingly. Her strength would be his strength. Amergin smiled back and raised his hand in a symbolic farewell.
A sense of foreboding came over him, intermingled with nervous anticipation and even excitement at the prospect of his sea adventure. An adventure with potentially a deadly outcome...
His gaze swept panoramically from horizon to horizon... the ocean, the coast and far beyond the mountain ranges of the Iveare and Sliebh Mis. He tried to visualise the high mountain fortress of Sliebh Mis through Sceine’s eyes...
The connectivity with the spirit world and the mortal realm was intensely strong here.Two hundred feet above the ocean, and the Bluestones of the Portal of Sceilge channelling along the lay line to the Western Province. Amergin felt at one with the spirit world... the veil came closer... he was able to pass in and out at will... he felt the Guardians of Light in his soul... guiding him, nurturing him... and then she came to him...“Sceine!” Her image shimmered before him. He felt the Light of the Divine wrapping around him. He felt her caress, her tender finger tips touching him, her breath softly over his face, his eyes closed in ecstacy. “I am with you my love...”She caressed the contours of his face, his body... She knew how to take him to a place of the deepest, purest joy. His senses were overwhelmed... he opened his eyes, staring in to an amber cosmos, he was falling again in to the dark fleck in her eye... deeper, deeper, deeper... he came back to the mortal realm...
Amergin was overcome with desire and emotion... Sceine was gone! He felt comforted, but somehow naked and exposed on a ledge two hundred feet above the boiling ocean. He breathed deep, taking in the rich ionized ozone. He was recharged, reenergised and reinvigorated. Her name was on his breath, “Sceine!” he shouted out for all to hear... her name echoed and resounded around the island temple...“Sceine! Sceine! Sceine!” her name was on all their lips...
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN:
THE NORTHERN OCEAN and THE PIRATES OF GRANNH
The weather perfect, the moon high in the night sky, the constellations shining bright, the sea as calm as he had ever seen it...
Amergin hugged his dear mother, Queen Scota, and shook the strong hand of his father, King Milidh.
He wiped the tears from the royal queen’s cheek and embraced and hugged her, giving a message from the heart. “Protect yourselves, protect this place, and we will meet again soon! I give you my love and may the great spirit be with you always!” With this he stepped on board the flagship and signalled for the oarsmen to take them out to sea.
He and the rest of the Milesian fleet drifted out to sea, the entrance of the sea cave silhouetted in the moon light. Amergin gave the orders to unfurl the sails. He helped his crew tension the rigging.
He felt the coolness of the ocean breeze. The sails started to fill. He turned to give a final salute and a wave farewell to Scota and Milidh, “To the return my dear parents... to the return ...!”
Once again the rigging took the strain, the sails billowed and the vessels of the Milesian fleet tacked away from the islands. The south-westerly wind pushing them ever onwards this time they would sail outside of the line of the islands, avoiding any possibility of getting ensnared by the “sea monsters of the Magine Islands.”
The tide had turned again, filling from the south. “Perfect!” exclaimed Amergin, “We shall follow Polaris, the Northern star!” He looked up in to the constellations. The portents seemed good, the Great Spirit was smiling down on them, and the sea god Manannan was giving them his blessing.
He surveyed the ocean, a low sea state, perfect for sailing, “We will make good headway tonight Xomas!” speaking in the direction of his helmsman, who agreed, “It is ideal my lord, by the Great Spirit and the sea god Manannan, may that continue to be so!” Amergin in turn spoke to MacCuill in his role as cartographer, “We will need your services this night. You must tell us of the landmarks that we must make for and the perils that might await us!” MacCuill looked up in awe as the universe unfolded before them. He had never seen such a sky! Starlit and moonlit, the milky edge of the galaxy stretching to infinity. A shout came from the watchman on high, “Look!!”
A meteorite of such brilliant Intensity arced over the north-eastern horizon, lighting up the ocean as it fell. “A sign my lord!” Xomas speculated, “The meteorite came from where we must go!” Amergin agreed and ordered his helmsman to make the necessary adjustment to their course.
In the stark moonlight Amergin could make out each and every one of his fleet, “Magnificent, he mariners of Milesia on course, and in perfect harmony once more!” Amergin felt the excitement of the adventure coursing through his veins. He knew only too well, that his enthusiasm must be tempered with the reality of the dangers that lay ahead.
Turning to Xomas, “We will take shifts, four hours on, four hours off. You take the first shift, but do not hesitate to call me.” Amergin placed a comforting hand on his helmsman’s shoulder, “Good work Xomas, my faithful helmsman. I will see you in a few hours.”
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Xomas nodded and smiled. Such praise from the Sea Druid Amergin! Their bond strengthened through the adversities of recent times. Xomas would follow Amergin faithfully. He would die for Amergin if necessary. Amergin sensed his loyalty and turned to retire below deck. He felt a wave of relief coming over him. He fell in to his quarters and was asleep before his head touched his hammock.
The events of the day and the journey beyond the veil sparking his dreams and consuming his consciousness, his slumbering body and his dreaming mind fell in to a fitful sleep. He fell in and out of kaleidoscopic dreams... he travelled through and beyond the veil, communing with the spirit world.
Returning to the mortal realm as a wave crashed on to the prow and was left in their wake. Sleeping, drifting again, into a deep dream state, and beyond the veil once more... The more he journeyed through this land and sailed the ocean, the more he felt as one. He was finding the unity he searched for... the unity of mind and of the spirit, the unity of national consciousness and a sense of destiny, the unity of creativity and imagination. Increasingly he felt unity between the mortal realm and the spirit world. Increasingly through his deep dream states, he was living beyond the veil, communing with the Guardians of Light and travelling to the spirit world. The network of portals across the land became his medium and the conduit. Through his dreams he could see events unfolding. He could see the glorious Western Province and the energised and life giving portals. He was one with the veil now. He was learning how to control his dreams. Now he could organise his subconscious and enter dream states of his choosing. The only place he could not journey was where the portals were infected. He sensed that the Eastern Province was darkening all the time, the dark one MacCuacht strengthening…