04-09-2022, 01:41 AM
(This post was last modified: 04-09-2022, 01:44 AM by Aiden Finnegan.)
One Day Later
The Chamber of Doorways in The Hall of Uscias
The Great City of Findias
The Isles of Erie
The Court of the Tuatha De wiki
Lugh stepped out onto the onyx platform with Abcan and an honor guard following closely behind. The Doorway snapped shut once the last of the King’s Guard had made it through. High Prince Uscias stood just a few paces off, hands clasped at his waist. His own honor guard – larger by ten men – sat behind him. Lugh had to fight the groan that begged to be released from his lips.
This was why he hated coming to Findias, every visit had to be formal and announced – that and the fact that Uscias ruled the city. He had restructured the entire culture here to be more in line with his militaristic fetishes. That was not to say the other High Princes hadn’t had a hand in changing their cities. Lugh had simply detested war. It was something that should be rallied against, not something that should be embraced. Peace was the only way the Isles would thrive in the future. Lugh had heard the stories of the other fallen empires of the world. He would not allow the Tuatha De to go the way of the Atlanteans.
“May the roof above us never fall in, my King,” Prince Uscias intoned formally with a deep bow.
“May peace and plenty bless your world, my Prince,” Lugh responded in kind with a slightly lesser bow.
Uscias rose stiff-faced, his red hair tumbling down neatly behind his back. He did not even look to be in his midyears, but the High Prince had seen more than seventy summers pass by. Lugh often thought it was the man's age that owed to the outdated decor that filled the Hall and its many chambers. Mirrored stand lamps of fairy fire filled the chamber with an otherworldly glow. Uscias’ polished breastplate reflected the quivering flames, causing his armor to look blue and green and purple. A long sword hung from his belt, all but daring Lugh to look at it.
Lugh could not bring himself to look at the sword directly, of course. That was what Uscias had wanted. Why else would he insist on wearing it when meeting Lugh today – indeed, during every meeting with Lugh? Lugh had been the one to avenge Nuada’s death; but, Uscias had actually been there to see Nuada fall, and it was he that had been there to claim the Sword of Light. He had tried to avenge Nuada’s death, but he did not have the skill to do so. Balor would have killed him too if Lugh had not arrived to stop the Fomorian.
“No mead and meat?” Lugh asked wryly before adopting the smirk. Prince Uscias always had a servant ready with a tray of meats and mead ready so that the Prince could break fast with his visitors and formally welcome them to his hall. The man had invented a number of formalities and rituals for these visits and matters of state. He had insisted that they were all based on long ago traditions from the mythical court of King Beothach of Lochlann – the supposed forebearer of the Tuatha De. Lugh had always thought those stories and these rituals to be rubbish.
“Believe it or not, I have listened to your council. This shouldn’t take more than a few moments, so why force you to endure?” Uscias asked in a perfectly modulated tone. The man had been all fire and raucousness before Nuada’s death; now he was wrought from iron and ice. Still, Lugh could detect a bite in the man’s comments.
“She’s ready to receive me then?” Lugh asked expectantly.
“Quite the opposite, I’m afraid,” Uscias said in that same tone, his head dipping a fraction to the side.
“I don’t follow you, man.”
“The Goddess Brigid is no longer in residence in the Great City of Findias,” Uscias said loudly, his voice echoing off the walls of the domed chamber.
“He wanted to be a bard when he was younger,” Abcan quipped under his breath. The dwarf laughed softly as Lugh rolled his eyes.
“Well, where did she go? You did tell her this was important, did you not?” Lugh asked, looking back to the High Prince. He tried to hold the smile, but it was becoming increasingly difficult. Uscias had held a grudge ever since Lugh had taken the High Seat. Not like the other High Princes; they were reluctant to rule their own assigned territories, much less the whole of the Isles.
“Her Temple was flooded when my messengers arrived at her gate,” Uscias said simply.
“Flooded?” Abcan asked without hiding his confusion. Lugh felt his own eyebrows begin to knot as his mind processed what the High Prince had said.
“Flooded. It took my men several hours to finally empty the place and find the cause. It was a Standing Flow. Thankfully it was nothing more than a few thick coils of Water. We had it unwound shortly after discovery. The temple had been emptied of all personal possessions. My advisors and I feel that Brigid herself set the Flow and filled her own temple before leaving for reasons unknown,” Uscias offered up in his formal tone. A scribe of his came waddling up, clasping a silken bag. The High Prince took the bag from the scribe without so much as glancing in his direction. Lugh took the bag as Uscias all but shoved it at him.
Lugh opened the sack and found it filled with a handful of clear crystal points. He took one out, suspecting what they were. Embracing the Light, Lugh filled himself and held onto it with sheer force of will. Beyond the raging energies that he now felt, a deep resonance of Air and Spirit could be felt emanating from the crystal point in his hand. Lugh let the Light go and the resonance along with it. Uscias had given him a bag of ogma cores.
The ogma cores were an ancient technology, supposedly brought to the Isles with Beothach from Lochlann. The cores were made of quartz and cut into very specific shapes. They were then worked with the Light somehow and made to record and store information. The ogma always gave off a subtle resonance, supposedly depending on the type of knowledge they held. The makings of ogma were another jealously guarded secret of the Isles. Not even Lugh knew how to make them – only how to read them.
“That is everything we have on Brigid and her family. I’m sure you have extensive records under the Hill, but I’ve always felt my scribes were a touch more,” Uscias paused uncharacteristically, “thorough. You are welcome, of course, my King, to tour her temple for yourself. Forgive my saying so, I just feel that it might be a waste of your time.”
Lugh replaced the crystal and handed the silken bag over to Abcan, who made it disappear into his robes with a smooth gesture. A tightness gripped Lugh’s middle. Uscias had something to hide. Something that Lugh would not likely uncover with the man standing before him. He held a grudge against Lugh, true, but he rarely went so far as to try and rush his King off so quickly. What was the harm in biting?
“Likely you are right,” Lugh said magnanimously, “I am sure that which you have provided will be more than adequate. Are you sure you don’t wish me to stay for some mead?”
“Only if you wish, my King,” Uscias answered quickly.
“Not today, Uscias. Not today,” Lugh replied without thought. Instead, he gave the man his characteristic smile, “May you have the love that never ends, my Prince.”
“May the road rise up to meet you, my King,” Uscias said with a smile.
With that, Abcan opened the Doorway once more. The King’s Guard parted in the middle and Lugh made his was back to the opening. He stepped through the Doorway and back on to the Hill of Tara. Uscias could barely hide his pleasure at seeing Lugh's back.
The Chamber of Doorways in The Hall of Uscias
The Great City of Findias
The Isles of Erie
The Court of the Tuatha De wiki
Lugh stepped out onto the onyx platform with Abcan and an honor guard following closely behind. The Doorway snapped shut once the last of the King’s Guard had made it through. High Prince Uscias stood just a few paces off, hands clasped at his waist. His own honor guard – larger by ten men – sat behind him. Lugh had to fight the groan that begged to be released from his lips.
This was why he hated coming to Findias, every visit had to be formal and announced – that and the fact that Uscias ruled the city. He had restructured the entire culture here to be more in line with his militaristic fetishes. That was not to say the other High Princes hadn’t had a hand in changing their cities. Lugh had simply detested war. It was something that should be rallied against, not something that should be embraced. Peace was the only way the Isles would thrive in the future. Lugh had heard the stories of the other fallen empires of the world. He would not allow the Tuatha De to go the way of the Atlanteans.
“May the roof above us never fall in, my King,” Prince Uscias intoned formally with a deep bow.
“May peace and plenty bless your world, my Prince,” Lugh responded in kind with a slightly lesser bow.
Uscias rose stiff-faced, his red hair tumbling down neatly behind his back. He did not even look to be in his midyears, but the High Prince had seen more than seventy summers pass by. Lugh often thought it was the man's age that owed to the outdated decor that filled the Hall and its many chambers. Mirrored stand lamps of fairy fire filled the chamber with an otherworldly glow. Uscias’ polished breastplate reflected the quivering flames, causing his armor to look blue and green and purple. A long sword hung from his belt, all but daring Lugh to look at it.
Lugh could not bring himself to look at the sword directly, of course. That was what Uscias had wanted. Why else would he insist on wearing it when meeting Lugh today – indeed, during every meeting with Lugh? Lugh had been the one to avenge Nuada’s death; but, Uscias had actually been there to see Nuada fall, and it was he that had been there to claim the Sword of Light. He had tried to avenge Nuada’s death, but he did not have the skill to do so. Balor would have killed him too if Lugh had not arrived to stop the Fomorian.
“No mead and meat?” Lugh asked wryly before adopting the smirk. Prince Uscias always had a servant ready with a tray of meats and mead ready so that the Prince could break fast with his visitors and formally welcome them to his hall. The man had invented a number of formalities and rituals for these visits and matters of state. He had insisted that they were all based on long ago traditions from the mythical court of King Beothach of Lochlann – the supposed forebearer of the Tuatha De. Lugh had always thought those stories and these rituals to be rubbish.
“Believe it or not, I have listened to your council. This shouldn’t take more than a few moments, so why force you to endure?” Uscias asked in a perfectly modulated tone. The man had been all fire and raucousness before Nuada’s death; now he was wrought from iron and ice. Still, Lugh could detect a bite in the man’s comments.
“She’s ready to receive me then?” Lugh asked expectantly.
“Quite the opposite, I’m afraid,” Uscias said in that same tone, his head dipping a fraction to the side.
“I don’t follow you, man.”
“The Goddess Brigid is no longer in residence in the Great City of Findias,” Uscias said loudly, his voice echoing off the walls of the domed chamber.
“He wanted to be a bard when he was younger,” Abcan quipped under his breath. The dwarf laughed softly as Lugh rolled his eyes.
“Well, where did she go? You did tell her this was important, did you not?” Lugh asked, looking back to the High Prince. He tried to hold the smile, but it was becoming increasingly difficult. Uscias had held a grudge ever since Lugh had taken the High Seat. Not like the other High Princes; they were reluctant to rule their own assigned territories, much less the whole of the Isles.
“Her Temple was flooded when my messengers arrived at her gate,” Uscias said simply.
“Flooded?” Abcan asked without hiding his confusion. Lugh felt his own eyebrows begin to knot as his mind processed what the High Prince had said.
“Flooded. It took my men several hours to finally empty the place and find the cause. It was a Standing Flow. Thankfully it was nothing more than a few thick coils of Water. We had it unwound shortly after discovery. The temple had been emptied of all personal possessions. My advisors and I feel that Brigid herself set the Flow and filled her own temple before leaving for reasons unknown,” Uscias offered up in his formal tone. A scribe of his came waddling up, clasping a silken bag. The High Prince took the bag from the scribe without so much as glancing in his direction. Lugh took the bag as Uscias all but shoved it at him.
Lugh opened the sack and found it filled with a handful of clear crystal points. He took one out, suspecting what they were. Embracing the Light, Lugh filled himself and held onto it with sheer force of will. Beyond the raging energies that he now felt, a deep resonance of Air and Spirit could be felt emanating from the crystal point in his hand. Lugh let the Light go and the resonance along with it. Uscias had given him a bag of ogma cores.
The ogma cores were an ancient technology, supposedly brought to the Isles with Beothach from Lochlann. The cores were made of quartz and cut into very specific shapes. They were then worked with the Light somehow and made to record and store information. The ogma always gave off a subtle resonance, supposedly depending on the type of knowledge they held. The makings of ogma were another jealously guarded secret of the Isles. Not even Lugh knew how to make them – only how to read them.
“That is everything we have on Brigid and her family. I’m sure you have extensive records under the Hill, but I’ve always felt my scribes were a touch more,” Uscias paused uncharacteristically, “thorough. You are welcome, of course, my King, to tour her temple for yourself. Forgive my saying so, I just feel that it might be a waste of your time.”
Lugh replaced the crystal and handed the silken bag over to Abcan, who made it disappear into his robes with a smooth gesture. A tightness gripped Lugh’s middle. Uscias had something to hide. Something that Lugh would not likely uncover with the man standing before him. He held a grudge against Lugh, true, but he rarely went so far as to try and rush his King off so quickly. What was the harm in biting?
“Likely you are right,” Lugh said magnanimously, “I am sure that which you have provided will be more than adequate. Are you sure you don’t wish me to stay for some mead?”
“Only if you wish, my King,” Uscias answered quickly.
“Not today, Uscias. Not today,” Lugh replied without thought. Instead, he gave the man his characteristic smile, “May you have the love that never ends, my Prince.”
“May the road rise up to meet you, my King,” Uscias said with a smile.
With that, Abcan opened the Doorway once more. The King’s Guard parted in the middle and Lugh made his was back to the opening. He stepped through the Doorway and back on to the Hill of Tara. Uscias could barely hide his pleasure at seeing Lugh's back.
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