Chapter 19: The Graven Swan
Svenya / Maerwynn
Whether it was my determination or the encouragement of Rian's presence, we managed to make it to Cloughbark in two and a half days when normally it would have taken three or more by foot. We had taken sparing rests and walked from before sunrise until after sundown, foregoing a fire or hot food. We took turns sleeping and were constantly for the Templars or a random pack of wolves to attack us.
I could tell it bothered Rian that he had left his commander and Ser Sellose with no reassurance or explanation. I presumed that Ser Sellose would be worried, but knew that Ser Lion would be furious. Though we talked little, when we did I strove to make Rian laugh, to which he would reward me with half-smiles or the occasional grin. There was a niggling sense of guilt that I had potentially destroyed his career by luring him off on my own personal quest, but I vowed to make things right and smooth it over with Ser Grey, even if it meant I would have to spar with him again.
As we travelled closer to my one-time home, we could see how far things had deteriorated. We passed by abandoned shacks and burnt out crops. The eeriest sight, though, was the burnt out remains of what was once the Cloughbark Chantry. The charred frame resembled the ribs of a skeleton, a hulking shadow reminding anyone saw it of what it had once been and announcing the immense power that the Cauldron Templars had amassed here. As with everywhere else, it felt like something ominous was lurking in the shadows. We dared not tarry and refused to speak of it as we passed.
We hurried on until I could just make out the mansion in the distance like a curled predator lying in wait. The knot tightened in my stomach and my palms began to sweat as one does when they walk knowingly into a trap. When last I had seen that building, I swore that I would never return and it is a dangerous thing to be foresworn. There is always a price.
We managed to conceal ourselves in the woods surrounding the grounds, waiting for the cover of darkness before proceeding to an old bramble and briar thicket that formed one of the borders of the grounds. It was a natural barrier against thieves and my father had not bothered to construct a wall there since it was so dense. As a child I had used this to my advantage, finding spaces within the growth where I could escape and hide without fear of my older brothers or father finding me and tormenting me. Some of my previous spots had been overgrown for years, but I managed to crawl through with minimal scratches from the sharp thorns. Rian followed closely but had more issues, being unaccustomed to crawling and creeping, receiving a nasty gash on the back of his left hand for all his careful pains.
Once we entered the grounds we cautiously approached the south side of the house, finding rose trellises and ivy, along with a large oak tree that grew past the roof and had some branches close to the windows. We climbed into the tree and crawled near to the windows of the second floor, close to a window that was most familiar to me. Taking one of the small pebbles I had placed in my pocket for the purpose and casting a sincere prayer to the Maker that nothing had changed in the intervening years, I tossed the pebble at the pane of glass. When there appeared to be no response I repeated this process three more times before I saw the pale light of a candle being lit within. I couldn't make out the figure that approached the window until it swung out on its hinge and a face squinted sleepily into the darkness.
After a moment of searching through the dimness, his eyes adjusted enough and he finally saw me perched with Rian in the tree across from him. His eyes went wide before he gave a surprised gasp, "Mae?"
"Shh," I hissed, "Quiet, little brother or you will wake the entire household and our purpose will be lost. Step back and move anything away from around the window that might be knocked over. We do not wish to alert anyone of our presence."
Without a word he disappeared and I could make out the faints sounds of shuffling within and the scraping of wood being pulled across the stone floors. After a time I heard the command, "Go!" from within and I made a leap from the tree into the mansion, followed by Rian.
While I had been graceful and avoided any collisions, Rian was not as nimble. He knocked a small table to the floor and we all froze with its wooden clatter, listening. The sound of footsteps echoed somewhere in the halls and Murchad hurried us into a wardrobe before a guard arrived at his chamber door.
"Is there anything amiss, sir?" I could hear the muffled demand through the wardrobe door.
My brother smoothly answered, "I awoke to use the chamber pot and tripped over a table in the darkness."
"Sorry to have bothered you," was the guard's reply before leaving and my brother released us from our dusty hiding place.
On being released from the wardrobe, I received an enthusiastic embrace from Murchad. It had been so long since I had last seen him. He was a foot taller, his hair was still as brown as mine, but short, and his eyes still twinkled mischievously, "Well, sister dear, you have not forgotten how to make an entrance."
As much as I wanted to tease and make light banter, my purpose hung heavily on my shoulders, "Is mother still the same?"
"Yes," he answered, his smile fading at the edges, "She will not wake. We can just barely feed her and assist her to swallow water in this state."
"Why hasn't father sent for an Avvar wise woman, like Bruna?"
The laughter the spat forth from Murchad was mirthless and tinged with bitterness, "Even if he could be torn away from his current pursuits, the Templars have caused the Avvar tribes to shun the nearby mountains for fear of winnowing raids. In the last year many have fled to the higher plateaus where the Templars dare not pursue them."
"I saw that the Chantry had been burned as well. I had heard that the sisters had been ousted, but I was shocked to see the building so defaced," I whispered in dismay.
"The Templars did not just oust the sisters, Mae. Some refused to leave, claiming that their holy mission compelled them to stay. The Templars accused them of sedition against the arling and imprisoned them in the fortress in Swidden." Murchad explained grimly, "That I believe was the first blow that begat Mother's current condition. Their plight fell hard on her and she even argued with Father, claiming that the Maker would not stand for such outright blasphemy and disrespect. He had her locked in her quarters and the door was only opened to have food brought to her. He claimed he would not suffer insubordination from her or anyone and that he would see her sent to Swidden too if she further angered him."
I could feel the blood drain away from my face as Murchad informed me of what had happened. It was not long after that when my mother took to her bed with illness, but it was months of emotional deterioration before she could no longer wake. I swallowed and nodded, my mouth feeling like sheep's wool, "We have little time then. I will have to dreamwalk to find mother in the Fade. If it is not too late, we might be able to bring her back. Then we will make plans to evacuate her from the house and smuggle her to Herfirien."
"Dreamwalking?" Rian asked, confused by the unfamiliar term.
Turning to him, I explained, "It is an old custom among the Avvar tribes that a wise woman can walk in the Fade and return a lost soul to a body, provided the body still lives."
"Isn't that magic?" Rian further inquired, looking troubled.
I shook my head, "Not quite. All people walk in the Fade when they dream, even those who are not mages. If one focuses enough, one can maneuver through the Fade purposely rather than be forced by the Fade's eddies and whims. It would be far more dangerous for a mage to do this because they naturally attract demons because of the nature of the power they are endowed with and their ability to manipulate the Fade, shaping it to suit their purposes."
"Are you sure about this, Mae?" Murchad worried, "I know Bruna taught you the means, but have you ever done this?"
"There are limited options. Either I do this or Mother will slip away." Laying the realities before them, Murchad and Rian did not look pleased but were unable to argue.
Finally Murchad conceded, "If you must do this, what do you require?"
"Take me to her. It will be easier if I am in the same room. I will need you to keep a look out. Rian will sit with me and assist as necessary. Everything else I require I have with me," I explained, gesturing to my satchel dangling from my shoulder.
"Me?" squeaked Rian.
I implored him with my eyes, "I will need you to help me maintain my connection to the waking world. If we fail that then everything will become dire. I trust you."
Following Murchad out of the room, we crept down near silent halls. Murchad knew the guards rotations and the order of their rounds in the halls so we were able to enter Mother's room in moments without being caught by surprise. Once inside, I looked to the large bed in the center of the chamber. The figure of my mother lay inert amid the cushions and coverlets. A dying fire flickered in the grate of the fireplace, casting ominous shadows across her pale face like fleeting specters. She was so still I feared that she might have stopped breathing and I was too late, but a light breath danced across my cheek as I drew closer to examine her. Her skin seemed almost translucent, her eyes slightly sunken in their sockets. Someone had neatly plaited her silvery gray hair, framing her head against the pillow, and her hands were folded across her chest. Even asleep she was too still.
I pulled from my bag the figure that Bruna had given me, along with a silken scarf. Wrapping the swan against the inside of my palm with the scarf, I began to explain in hushed tones to Rian, "I shall lay down next to my mother and you will sit on the other side of me. It should only be moments before I drift off. You may hear me mumble in my sleep or hum to myself. Pay no attention. If I should appear to become troubled or begin to thrash about, press the figurine into my hand through the silk. Do not be afraid, doing this will not affect you. Just be vigilant and do not doze."
"On my honor," Rian breathed, trying not to seem as scared as I knew he was. I took his hand into my empty one and squeezed it reassuringly.
After that I reclined next to my mother and closed my eyes. Listening to the room I could just barely make out the shallow, steady breath of my mother near my ear. I felt the quilts against my back as my body sank slightly into the bed. I could hear the occasional pop or crackle from the fire. Just at the edge of the room next to the door my brother fidgeted, shifting from one foot to the other and making an almost imperceptible creak as he leaned into the door itself, listening to the hallway beyond.
The world seemed to close in and I gripped the graven swan a little tighter, noticing that it seemed to become unnaturally warmer against my skin with a vague pulsating sensation, like the beating of a heart and I wondered if it was my own heart beating that I felt or if the figure had suddenly been imbued with life. Panic started to swell as I considered the seriousness of such an action that I was taking, what I was risking by entering the Fade in such a fashion. To stave off the fear, I began to stammer a song that I had heard Bruna sing before,
"The paths I walk can be dark,
The road ahead may be stark,
Though my companions are fears,
Though my libation is tears,
I am bound by a solemn geas,
I am bound to the distant seas,
Beyond the edge of dreams,
Though hopeless it seems,
There remains unbroken things,
Protected by a black swan's wings."
I am not sure if I had begun to drift, but I could almost swear that I felt a gentle brush of lips against my forehead and a soft whisper of Rian's voice saying, "Tread carefully, Svenya. Do not fail to return to me or I will find a way to follow after you."
With that I noticed that my body was enveloped with a sensation of sinking into warm, prickly water, almost like being in a bath with thousands of soft needles brushing against your naked skin. The world and all its sounds continued, but were farther away, fading to the back of my mind and I opened my eyes to look over at my mother again and I saw only mist and the pale trunks of trees not far from me.
I bolted upright, finding myself in an empty clearing surrounded by poplar trees, likely ghostly sentinels. The grass was yellowed, as if it had been dying and felt brittle against my skin, crackling as I moved. The air was misty and I could not see beyond the first row of trees. All was silent.
My clothes were gone, replaced with a soft brown shift and my feet were bare. I carried nothing in my hands and my hair hung loosely around my face. Tentatively I reached my fingers up and ran them over my face and found my mask securely in place, which was bizarrely comforting and familiar though everything else around me was foreign.
Suddenly light was eclipsed from above me as a shadow flew overhead with a graceful beating of large black wings. I was certain I could make out the outline of a swan high above me and it was flying beyond the tree line. Without another thought I tore off at a run in the direction I saw it fly, plunging into the forest of specter trees and just barely noticing the sting of nettles against my bare feet, but I could not lose the swan. It was the only guide I had on this side of the Veil.
Author's Note:
Sorry this took so long. We had a mass illness at my house over the past month. Everyone got sick and, just when we thought it had finished, everyone got sick again with something new. Then the allergies began to hit.
I am glad to be back working on this again. There are major things ahead - not all of them good. It could get VERY dark folks so bear with me.
