The Traveler: Part 1

Chapter 31

"Aen verelith cyrre naid. Ader eich blaen eide 'me." I give you my heart. But I shall take your head.

***

Avallac'h sat peacefully on his terrace looking out over the skyline of Tir ná Lia as the sun sunk behind the city's sophisticated architecture. The lavender scent of his G'ymar, his 'companion' Maondine still lingered after she had left him with his beverage of choice and a plate of perfectly ripened figs. The sage nibbled on the fruit, meticulously crushing the tiny, crunchy seeds between his front teeth.

Once he was finished with his snack, he stood up and went over to the railing, his alabaster colored robes open and fluttering in the breeze. Avallac'h's mind was for the last time as clear as it would ever be which is why it came as such as surprise when Maondine interrupted his meditations holding the small, glowing stone in her dainty hands.

"Crevan?" she said holding out the Sunstone. He looked at her confused and took the ancient bauble. He waited for a moment till it resonated and pulsed once more. He hadn't been prepared for this. He expected to dream of the Elder Blood as he always did and then would wait to feel those ripples in time and space. Dammit, Ciri. What was she using the stone for?

He flung off his robe leaving it on the ground and briskly walked naked into the house. He cast a spell summoning his clothes on and grabbed his satchel and staff. He returned to the terrace and held the Sunstone close to his lips.

I accept your heart and gladly give you my head, he spoke in the ancient dialect. The stone began to glow brighter and the energy from it encompassed the sage.

Maondine was left alone there on the terrace with an empty robe and a mind full of questions.

***

Ciri fumbled the small stone around in her hand. She looked at Iespeth who was leaning against a large bolder, her arms crossed and scowling.

"How long will it take?" she asked Ciri.

"I suspect not long. He need merely speak the words into the counterpart and it should teleport him here directly." Iespeth huffed and shifted her weight from one foot to the other.

Ciri had chosen a secluded grove at the foot of Mount Gorgon to summon their Aen Elle 'friend'. There was a cave somewhere nearby in the depths of the vast mountain containing an ancient elven ruin. Ciri was certain a gate existed there.

They watched as the magic flickered and grew until the figure of a man formed. Once the transportation was complete Avallac'h inspected his surroundings quickly as if preparing for a battle.

"Hello, Avallac'h," Ciri said nervously.

The sage felt the two pairs of intense emerald-eyes fixated on him and he rested the butt of his staff on the ground. "Caed'mil, witcheress'". He felt the tension and waited a bit before speaking again.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" he asked.

Iespeth scoffed and shuffled her feet once more. He looked at her curiously, thinking she had grown more beautiful since last he saw her, though she was clearly adverse towards him. Truth be told she was his little secret about whom he often thought of, tucked away quietly in his mind and in the land of the Aen Seidhe.

"Can we walk?" Ciri asked ask the sage.

He held out his hand gesturing. "Lead the way."

He realized the she-elf remained leaning on her bolder though she didn't remove her scowling eyes from him. Once Ciri and Avallac'h were a ways away she began.

"Avallac'h? I need something from you."

"Oh?"

"What do you know of Dol Blathanna?"