Celtic Heroes

Story Part 1: Into the Maelstrom
Story Part 2: Season of Corruption
Story Part 3: Yule's Eve Delivery

Story Part 4: Star of Wonder

The seers of the Citadel of Ictis were troubled, for their visions were clouded to the West where Dal Riata lay. No longer would their visions penetrate the fog that had descended upon that land since the skies were lit by falling stars two weeks previous. All they had to rely on was rumor. The tales that the shipmen told in the villages of Kernow, were of a maelstrom that had engulfed the mainland of Dal Riata, that it was suicide to try and make port there. The blinding snowstorm that had unseasonably hit the mainland had wrecked many a ship since its appearance, to the point where sailors had been cautioned to not voyage there for the peril there may mean their doom. It was also rarely whispered that some evil magic had gripped the land and was waging war on the people. This would be troubling news as well, for the chief import of Dal Riata was heroes; men and women looking to prove their bravery and make their fortune, for Dal Riata was a wild land filled with terror and danger. It was not at all as civilized as Kernow, and the isle off the coast formally named Ictis but more informally known as “The City of Books.”

It was here that for generations those who had the gift of sight could come and hone their skills as a seer, for even more so than the knights of Kernow it was they who were the chief defense of the kingdom. It was they who could see the dangers in far off lands, and it was they who could see the perils waiting in the future. Now that they were cut off from the most dangerous land in the realm, it did not bode well for the kingdom.

It was in the white stone halls of the citadel that the seer Mike Tremayne found himself pacing and clutching his missive. He had read it a hundred times over and still he was in disbelief. He was chartered with a mission to sail to Dal Riata and determine the source of the disturbance, for contact with their emissary Mirain the Seer had been severed with the onset of the storm. A ship was being readied in the village on the mainland, and he would leave this night, to arrive on the morning of the first day of Yuletide. Mike crumpled the message tightly in his fist. This was his first mission being sent abroad, and the storm ahead would test even the most seasoned adventurer. Mike prayed that he would be up to the task.

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The young girl in a weather stained cloak covering white robes named Muriel Penrose stood before the towering ship, as the waves lashed the hull below with white spay and the stars shown overhead. It seemed like ages since she had seen her mother, Mirian, since she had been assigned to Dal Riata. But Muriel had always been in contact with mother, especially since Muriel started her training as a seer. Like her mother, she too had the gift of sight. The training was to help her focus her gifts, and once it was complete her mentors believe that she could possibly become the most powerful seer in ages. But her gifts we now unreliable because she remained unfocused, which is why instead of attending her studies Muriel had broken curfew to find a way to hide onboard the only ship bound for Dal Riata.

Muriel heard the rumors of evil magic, and needed to know that her mother was okay. Pulling her hood down lower as to not attract attention, Muriel kept to the shadows and stole onboard the ship. There was only one way to know for sure that her mother was safe, and that was to see for herself.

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An arrow whizzed by John’s head and embedded in the oak windowsill with a thunk. He whipped his head around to see his armored pursuer reloading his crossbow and shouting “Stop there thief!” With a knavish smile John taunted “Maybe next time mate.” He took one look out of the open window overlooking the cliffs and the ocean and the jagged rocks below, and then closed his eyes. Sensing it was safe, John Teague the greatest thief in the kingdom of Kernow jumped from the window to meet the ocean down far below.

With a splash John hit the icy waters and resurfaced between two stony boulders that would have surely meant his doom, but things like that never worried John. Local legend said that John had the luck of old Donn himself, but John knew better. As a child, John was to be tested for the sight at the Citadel of Ictis, but he had never made it that far. John had come from a wealthy merchant family, and on the way to the Citadel his family’s carriage was beset by Spriggans. Spriggans were ugly gnome-like creatures who delighted in setting traps for unwary travelers, and raising storms. It was on the road to the Citadel that young John and his family was blinded by a rain storm, and drove their carriage off one of the many deadly cliffs that were prevalent in Kernow. Unconscious, John was rescued by a band of pirates, and raised by them as one of their own. In time John’s untrained gifts would give him sight into the immediate future, and this is how he became a legendary thief. He would know where an arrow would strike before it was nocked, he would know if a treasure chest held gold or a trap, and he would know whether a jump from a window seven stories down to the ocean below would kill him or save him.

John let out a raucous laugh that was sure to be heard by the guards above, kissed the lavishly decorated golden bowl he held in his hand, and tucked it in his pack. With a mocking salute, John swam off into the night as arrows whizzed by from the keep above.

John made his way to the closest village, staying off the main roads and keeping to the countryside so as not to attract unwanted attention. Travelling in sodden clothes was uncomfortable at first, but walking the few miles to the village in the crisp night air had all but dried them completely by the time he reached the village. John knew that he needed to leave Kernow quickly, for his pursuers would not be far behind him and the golden bowl tucked in his pack.

There was only one ship in the harbor that looked to be departing quickly. John didn't know where it was going, but quickly is what he wanted in the general direction of “away.” It was no large feat to talk his way onto the crew of the ship, and within the hour he had secured his passage to Dal Riata where he would lay low and hopefully relax until the danger in Kernow died down.

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Mike Tremayne stood aboard the deck of the Sea Piskie as it sliced through the jet black sea making its way to Dal Riata. The journey so far had been uneventful, although this trip had it’s potential for danger. Sailing at night was always dangerous, but the captain and crew of the ship knew it’s way around the coasts of Kernow from years of sailing, and knew where the mermaids lived so that they could avoid their siren songs.

Now, out in the open sea they were coming nearer to the land of Dal Riata. Mike heard the sailor in the crow’s nest call down to the captain, and Mike ran to the rail to make sight of land. But land was nowhere to be found. There was only a swirling maelstrom of snow and ice where there might have been land. It was impossible to even see the lighthouse at Heroes’ Landing as so many sailors have done before. Sailors were madly rushing to and fro on the deck, making preparations to sail into the storm. The captain had a worried look of determination in his eyes as he held fast to their course. They sailed into the storm, and were lost.

The snow blinded Mike, but he could see the captain lose control of the wheel as they hit the maelstrom head on. The ship swung and spun in the cresting waves until it was impossible to tell which way they should be heading. Mike recognized that although they were lost, the only way out of the storm was to look inward. Digging in his pack, Mike pulled out a small silver bowl, and a pouch of frankincense he had saved to induce visions. Burning the frankincense and inhaling the smoke, Mike prepared himself for a vision, but none came. Mike closed his eyes again, but something was obscuring his sight.

That was when Mike was jolted forward when the ship surged and sent a figure flying into him. Pulling herself to her feet, a young girl dressed in a weather beaten cloak covering the robes of a Citadel initiate had been the one that crashed into Mike.

“What.. who are you? How did you get here?” stammered Mike.

“My name is Muriel, and I’ll explain everything later. But right now you need my help.” She opened a pouch of her own and dumped what appeared to be myrrh into the flames. The fire turned purple for a moment, as Muriel joined hands with Mike and they breathed in the smoke. But nothing happened.

“Eh what’s this then, you two having a smoke while we’re all going to die? Well maybe you, but not me. I've seen that I get out of this alright.” A deckhand strode up to the couple as they tried in vain to make the ancient ritual work.

“We are trying to save us all here. What would you know about finding a port in a storm like this?” shouted Mike over the howling gale.

Smiling, the sailor replied “I know that if it’s a vision you’re looking for, there’s one thing that you need, and that’s gold.” The sailor sat down next to them and reached into his pack, producing an ornate golden bowl of which he dumped the contents of Mike's bowl into. The embers glowed brightly and sparks flew from the golden bowl.

“Look!” cried Muriel as she pointed to the sky. In the midst of the maelstrom an opening formed in the clouds and a bright star shone through. “There! Do you see it?”

“Yes! Yes there it is!” shouted Mike as he raced toward the helm and hailed the captain. “Captain! Chart a heading for that star there. That is where we will find our port.”

“Aye aye!” cried the captain as he jerked the wheel to turn the ship westward towards the star that would lead them toward their destinies.


Story Part 5: The Sleigh Guides