THE DAIGHACAER BOOK ONE CHAPTER 4 - THE ARCHAISE

Good morning

Monday means more of The Daighacaer. 

The section on the detoxification process of being admitted to the Archaise may be a tough reminder for those who have had to endure severe, prolonged medication or detoxification. I watched my father suffer through chemotherapy nausea for the entire time that he was on it. It's not something that I ever want to experience.

For the rest of the chapter, Eryen is up close and personal with both The Darke and The Lighte.

Sunrise on a cloudy day

THE DAIGHACAER BOOK ONE
THE POWER OF ONE
Chapter 4 - The Archaise

The portal opened on to the first cleansing station.

Eryen consciously forced himself to overcome his anxiety, as his subconscious tried to force him to hold his breath to prevent jets of pure vapour surging into his unwelcoming lungs.

As the vapour sped through his bloodstream, Eryen’s body responded immediately to the detoxification and he felt nausea welling up from his solar plexus into his throat and mouth. His head began to throb and the pain behind his eyes became unbearable.

The entire cleansing experience was torturous, the like of which was more intense than anything he had ever experienced, even though he was expecting it. He suspected that, even after Jaela’s ministrations, his body was still contending with the contaminant from the attack. Eryen was now an infrequent visitor to the Archaise and always, previously, his trips were planned well in advance so that his body was ready for the process.

Those who entered the labyrinth daily eventually felt no side effects from the detoxification, but for others, like Eryen, who only entered occasionally, the purification process would always be stomach-churning at best. This time, Eryen knew that he would struggle even more than he generally did.

When he first entered into fulltime study, he was warned of how violently the purifications affected the body. He always, during that time, put himself through a strict detoxification regimen for a whole week before he felt that he was ready to undertake his maiden and every subsequent journey into the interior of the Archaise. He felt slight to no discomfort at all while going through the detoxification process.

He neither sympathised nor understood how his fellow scholars could have been reduced to such gibbering idiocy for the first few days of each new term.

“They know what to expect,” was always his first reaction to anyone who mentioned it.

The purifications that he was undergoing at this point in time were teaching the Heir Prince a salutary lesson in compassion.

After what seemed like a lifetime, the steaming torrent slowed and stopped. Walking with a feeble dullness, Eryen dejectedly moved mindlessly to the next portal. His body was already reacting to what it knew it was about to experience, not only once more but another three times.

He shuddered.

His head was bursting behind his eyes and he started to retch uncontrollably.

Only vaguely aware of what he was doing, Eryen found himself stumbling towards the extraction conduit, which had been provided years previously by thoughtful ancestors. He did not think that he would make it and, right then, he did not care whether he did or not. However, with one last frantic dive, he fell to the floor just in front of the conduit and successfully emptied his stomach … several times.

At that point, there was no doubt that, without his internal yldryf compulsion to continue, he would have turned back. His body told him he should, in fact it insisted. His mind agreed; yet his heart and spirit would not allow it.

After a desperate hour of cleansing, retching and recovering, Eryen slumped on to the floor of the concealed Inner Sanctum.

He was exhausted and dispirited.

He breathed deeply as he looked around despairingly at the bookcases embracing thousands upon thousands of manuscripts. He sighed in frustration at what lay ahead of him and promptly fell into a fitful sleep.

When he awoke he had no idea of the time, nor did he have any idea of how long he had been asleep. He was relieved to discover that his head no longer hurt and that, although he felt weak and a little hungry, the pain and nausea had left him and he was feeling surprisingly alert.

♦

As he rose, Eryen noticed two things.

The first was an unfamiliar bitter odour, which clung to the air around him and stayed with him even as he walked.

He smelled his arms and even lifted his shirt away from his body. The odour was definitely not emanating from him or his clothes and, bizarre as it seemed, there appeared to be an alert watchfulness about the odour.

“Similar to the awareness of that lightning,” he muttered. As the thought entered his head, he became instantly alert.

Once again, nothing appeared to be normal.

He feinted to the left and to the right and then walked quickly backwards and forwards. The odour moved with him.

“Not again! First the lightning and now this! Whatever this is, it’s alive, sentient and yet it’s wary of getting too close – strange. It is wide-awake, I think. It is also aware of every movement I make. I don’t like this. I don’t like this at all!”

Eryen frowned as he stood quite still and looked around the room as far as he could without moving his head.

The compulsion flared within him and he knew that whatever the odour was, it was definitely connected to the rejection to which he had been subjected by The Lady Dawne. He also knew with absolute certainty that his yldryf blood was holding off the odour is some strange way.

“Thank The Lighte for that,” he said out loud.

He thought that, perhaps if he mentioned The Lighte, whatever the odour was, it would back away. It did not. If anything, it became more aware.

The second thing that Eryen noticed was that a number of manuscripts from the enclave just ahead of him were lying on the floor in total disarray. They had been flung on to the floor between the time he had arrived, fallen asleep in the Archaise and when he awoke.

As he unconsciously knelt to pick up one of the scrolls. His head burst into searing pain and he sank unceremoniously to the floor. He moved his hand away from the scroll and the pain subsided. He tried once more to reach out for the scroll and once more the pain intensified until he grunted and nearly cried out in agony. The compulsion within him seemed to sag with the pain as well. He sat with his head in his hands for a long time recovering and wondering what he was going to do.

Just as surely as he knew that the odour was troubled by his yldryf blood, so too he knew that whatever this pain was and whatever caused it, it would have killed him if not for his blood.

Nothing made sense. Not earlier this morning, not now.

Eryen prostrated himself on the floor and with great sorrow, whispered, “I cannot do what it is that I believe you require of me, My Lord Dayl. I am here because of yldryf but I cannot continue.” He automatically lapsed instinctively into the formal language he always used when addressing his Deities.

“There is some Darke force here which overwhelms my very spirit, my very soul, My Lord Dayl. I am powerless to perform even the one simple task of taking a scroll.”

As if to demonstrate, Eryen tried to reach for a scroll once more, with the same agonising results.

“Remove your hand from me, Holy One, that I may wither into whatever oblivion you deem fit. I am not worthy.” Eryen choked out with a miserable groan.

As Eryen lay dejected on the floor with his eyes tightly shut, he felt a pair of strong hands raise him to his knees. The touch and strength of the hands was more than merely physical. They were imparting mental and spiritual strength as well.

The odour still hovered around him but the desperate sense of failure he had felt a moment before, was gone. The pain still nagged at his head, seemingly trying, but not quite succeeding, to overcome him.

Startled, he opened his eyes and instinctively swivelled his head. He saw no one. The odour and pain disappeared immediately as he opened his eyes.

Then, the warm, powerful voice he had known all his life, spoke into the silence.

“My Eryen, my child. Be ye neither sorrowful nor disconsolate at thy perceived failure. For surely, such failure is of thy understanding alone.”

Eryen jumped abruptly to his unsteady feet and looked around him quickly but could still see no one.

When the deep voice started speaking again, Eryen understood that the sound was audible only in his head and within his consciousness.

“My Lord Dayl?”

Eryen bowed low again and then fell once more to his knees.

“Rise, my son. Prostrate not thyself before me. What thou hath suffered this day was a sore endurance that was surely required of thee.”

Eryen stood uneasily and spoke aloud into the silence. In his weakened state, although he recognised that the voice was in his head, he could not quite answer the same way.

“I am unworthy of performing your bidding, Great Lord Dayl. My mind is weak and my body was not even able to sustain itself during the required cleansing to enter the Archaise.”

Once again, the voice interjected. “As intense as the purification regimen generally is, thou hath experienced it one hundredfold more than previously. Thy life was in balance and, in order to right the wrong done to thee, thy body needed to be cleansed of the very last mite of contaminant that was embedded in thee by The Darke’s lightning minion.”

The contaminant? Jeala told him that he was most likely infected with a contaminant when the lightning struck. The Lord Dayl now confirmed it. Was that it or was it the vile odour? Perhaps it was a combination of both.

“Thou art ever worthy, Eryen, my son. Thou hast within you The Power of One. It is for this reason that there is a great and mighty task which thou must needs perform. The Lighte and The Darke have ever been at enmity, yet the time of prophesy has arrived when The Darke wishes to exert domination over the whole of Faeré. It is because thou art recognised as being The Power of One, prophesied aeons previously, that The Darke hath attacked thee relentlessly. Thou art an intrinsic danger to The Darke’s plans. Hence the cleansing which thou hath endured was harsh and cruel indeed. It was a painful preparation for thee, my son, lest thy heart should fail in thy time of direst need.”

“The Power of One, My Lord Dayl?”

“All which is embodied in that power will become known to thee in its appointed time. Know only that there is a task which has been decreed by The Lighte to be thine at this time.

“Thy task is that which shall resolve forever a bitter conflict between The Darke with its sinister vice and The Lighte with its honourable virtue. It is a conflict which hath raged in the creations since time first existed.”

Eryen’s sad sigh seemed to emanate from the depths of his being. “I have no power, My Lord Dayl. Whatever thought of power I ever had, fled from me this day. I cannot be used as a vessel for The Lighte. You do not understand. This morning My Lady Dawne rejected my greeting and now this, where I cannot even protect myself against a contaminant. That is how worthless I have become.”

“No, Eryen, my son. It is thee who hath no understanding at this time. Thou didst in no way fail in thy devotions. The rejection was at my behest on instruction from The Lighte itself. My sister, The Lady Dawne, with whom I am twinned, didst draw thee to me in this chamber after the attack from The Darke, an attack which we foresaw.”

“The Lady Dawne’s rejection of thy supplication didst sorrow her deeply,” said the commanding voice of The Lord Dayl.

“As reparation for the anguish which thou didst endure, The Lady Dawne wishes me to present thee to her when thou hath chosen that wave upon which ye shall ride to the completion of thy task. At that time, shall ye receive thy just reward from The Lady Dawne.”

“Honourable Lord, I require no recompense. If it is your will that I undertake whatever you wish on your behalf, you know that I always have been and always will be willing to do your bidding. The honour alone shall be my reward.”

“Thou speakest truly what is in thy heart, my son. Even so, thy reward shall be for thee a complete and vital gratification.”

At Eryen’s sad shake of his head, The Lord Dayl’s voice grew louder and insistent. “Spurn not gifts bestowed by thy Deities.”

“I apologise, My Lord Dayl, most humbly. It is just that my life was pledged to you from the first moment that I had control of my own understanding and even before that by my parents on my behalf. I live to serve The Lighte through My Lady Dawne and you, My Lord Dayl, and only you.”

“That is one reason thou hath been chosen, Eryen. The other is as The Power of One. The fulfilment of prophesy from the beginning of Time and Times. Thy skilfulness and honesty as servitor hath resounded within the very halls of Tauan, The Most High and Universal Author. Nevertheless ye shall receive thy rewards. Speak no more of this.”

“Indeed, My Lord Dayl. I shall obey as you wish.”

“There is more. Thou doth enter perilous times. It is fitting that ye be granted safeguards. Thou hath already at this time, thrice been beset by The Darke. Know even so, that thy life hath been covered with shields against these Darke ones. Darke ones which do surely even now follow thee with a singular mind to do thee grievous harm.”

“Already, My Lord Dayl? I am not aware of any attack by Darke forces.” Eryen paused. “Unless the lightning this morning was indeed attacking me as I felt it was.”

“The lightning which thou didst believe was attacking thee was, in truth, attacking thee. We didst not consider the necessity to protect the area prior to The Lady Dawne’s rejection and The Darke didst enter with glee to attack thee. The Darke attempted to kill thee but didst fly in the face of the eternal law which was put in place by The Universal Author at the beginning of Time and Times.”

“Is that possible, My Lord Dayl?” asked Eryen.

“Yes, my son, it is indeed possible. The Universal Author laid down laws to keep the necessary balance for mortal life to continue. The Darke desires dominion over the whole Realm of Faeré and hath put no thought into the predestined destruction that will be caused by such dominion. The lightning and the tempest were the first of the new attacks against thee and, by extension, on the Kingdom of Raeldysce and the Realm of Faeré itself.”

Eryen was so engrossed in what The Lord Dayl was saying that he did not hear the fullness of what he was being told. This omission would return to haunt him as he travelled.

“The Darke saw that my sister meant to keep her face from thee and saw the opportunity to attack thee. When I understood its intention, I didst ensure that The Darke was aware that I was with thee and would not tolerate any interference, and thus it retreated. Yet, even as thou wert suffering from the great pain ye didst endure to rid thyself of the contaminant. A feat which thou didst partially achieve, and then as thou laboured to bring thyself into my presence, the same foul malevolence didst seek to overcome thee. Such malevolence didst reveal itself as a malignant and tainted odour.”

Eryen realised then that the disgusting odour no longer surrounded him and his breathing was not as laboured as previously.

“Aahhh! So that stench was trying something,” he said. “I felt its presence, Lord Dayl. Somehow I knew that it was a vile thing intent on harming me.”

“It didst indeed live, even though it didst live in only a form of life as darzim do, and it had as its only purpose to slay thee. Know ye now that this malevolence which didst beset thee hath been overcome and it shall no longer have power to cause thee or thy loved ones anguish or suffering. The malevolent odour was that of an odorous darzim. Thy yldryf blood didst protect thee in a manner and assisted as I thoroughly cleansed thee.”

The Lord Dayl paused and Eryen nodded. He had been correct about his yldryf blood protecting him and he thanked The Lighte again for that.

The Lord Dayl continued. “Yet the darzim would’st not have left thee and would’st always have been to thee a barb in thy flesh except that I didst unsummon it at its life force and hath sent its paltry energy back into the depths from whence it came. Shouldst any other such living malevolent odorous darzim come at thee as thou doest my bidding and even afterwards as ye live thy life thereafter, I have provided thee with the means to destroy such as this, completely even unto eternal division of its evil. Such means have I provided to thee.”

Eryen did not understand. What he was hearing was too far beyond his understanding and his comprehension; and his memories and his subconscious mind provided him with no help from The Knowledge of the Ages.

“As thou doth leave the sanctuary of The Realm of Faeré, which ye shall needs must do with some haste, my son, the vessel which I have provided to thee shall be located within that which is mist and watery spray by one who loves thee dearly. In a scroll within such vessel, is set out the direction to a living vessel which shall be secreted away yet near to the vessel which the one who loves thee shall find.”

Eryen was overwhelmed by what he was being told, not only of vessels being secreted away and protection from odorous darzim but, to him, the most shocking news of all.

“I am to leave the Realm of Faeré, My Lord Dayl? I understand about leaving the Kingdom of Raeldysce, but Faeré? Is that even possible?”

“Listen a little while yet, my son. As much as can be revealed to thee at this time, shall I reveal. If thou doth ever have a cause to be set upon by any such malevolence again, the vessel shall be the means to its destruction. Shouldst ye have a need to open the vessel, she shall of a surety devour the malevolent darzim and after it has been used for its purpose, she shall send its force back into the Underdarke in such manner that shall prevent it from leaving that profane plane for all of time and times.

“Be ye wary, however, my son. The one who loves thee shall not know the vessel and ye must needs guarantee that the one who loves thee doth not cause the vessel to be opened. For, shouldst the vessel be opened by other than thee, she will destroy herself together with the comprehension, if not the life itself, of the one who opens her.

“Be ye wary also, my son, of hasty actions. For, once released, the living vessel must needs feed. Shouldst the malevolent darzim not be prepared directly for its subjection, the living vessel shall, through its own natural necessity, feed on whatsoever available presence it finds in its stead.

“There shall be time and times to come for thee when ye shall have a need to destroy whatsoever Darke essence hath been summoned by the Summoner for The Darke, Caliginor, who calls himself The Darkenighte. Yet, such time is not now. There are nevertheless other onerous tasks which must be completed before thou doth come up against and deal in the appropriate manner with the Summoner. I adjure you to, at all times, be wary, my son. There is much Darkeness afoot in Faeré and beyond.”

Eryen may have been out of his depth in understanding what The Lord Dayl was said and requiring of him but one thing that kept coming to the fore of his mind was the attempts on his life.

“I understand, My Lord Dayl and will be very vigilant that everything is done as you have said it shall be done. You said there were three attempts, Lord...”

“There hath also been one other malicious wickedness which didst think to force thee to bend thy will to itself this day. It fled as I was dealing with the other darzim. For this wickedness also hath I provided thee with a resolution.

“Should this Darke wickedness strive to come against thee or thy loved ones once more, ye shall prevail with mine very own sword, the Sword of Dayl, which shall cut the wickedness off from itself. The wickedness doth also hail from the Underdarke and its minion in Faeré, the same Caliginor, The Darkenighte, who seeks thy demise.

“This wickedness was sent by the mortal darzim overseer, Caliginor, as an unknown companion to the odorous darzim in its quest to slay thee. This yet roams freely throughout Faeré seeking thee and thine to do the bidding of The Darke. Once the wicked companion to the odorous darzim hath been fittingly severed from itself, it shall no more have the power to be wicked and shall for all time bow itself only to do thy bidding. This shall be achieved by thee and one other who shall become known to you as thou travellest. Beware that thou doth not spurn this individual. To do so would’st be of the gravest of grave errors.

“As I reference The Sword of Dayl, it is bound to thee alone. He hath been charged by my hand to act as a protector to thee. Ye shall discover the Sword of Dayl within living rock which is both judgment and wisdom. Such judgment and wisdom liveth within the body of a four-footed and clawed creature unknown to thee upon which the stripes of uprightness rest. The creature is one and bound with a spherical Orb, which is both protector to and protected by the creature. The Sword and the Orb are as one and hath been assigned unto thee for the sum of thy lifetime and the lifetime of thy blood forever.”

“Only my blood, Lord Dayl, or the blood of all your children, the yldryf?”

“Thy uncontaminated blood of thine own yldryf and Raeldysce heritage shall be one with the Sword.”

“How is this possible, Lord Dayl? Except for me, only Lebrowen and Jivdreg’s fathers still have the full yldryf bloodline. Yet their lives have taken different routes these many, many years past. No pure yldryf has been or will ever be born from their lineage. It has long saddened me that I am the last unbroken bloodline of the yldryf. Even my son, Ryallor, has only half of his blood as yldryf.”

“Ye shall discover in time that ye doth err on this count my son. Yet, the Sword of Dayl hath not need of thy purely yldryf bloodline, my son. It hath need only of thee and thine own uncontaminated blood. Be aware, my son, that the time shall come when thou shalt take to thee thy true and life partner. Thy love and faith bond which thou doth take to thyself must needs be within and of thy pure and sanctified intent. If thou doth fail in this intent and doth take to thee one outside of thy true love and faith bond, the Sword shall surely fail thee and shalt become to thee an encumbrance until the end of thy days.”

Eryen opened his mouth to asked who and where his true love and life partner was to be found. He had once thought that he had already found his true life partner. He wanted to ask too where the other yldryf were but he could not speak. His voice was bound in a compulsion of silence.

The Lord Dayl answered Eryen’s unasked question. “It is not for thee to know at this time who and where thy love is to be found and where these others of thy blood are, just as it is not time for thee to know the destiny of thy pure and sanctified life and soul bonds.”

“No more of this at present. There is much for thee to do. Hearken well, my son Eryen Raeldysce, and open thy mind to receive my words.”

Eryen did not think to questioned any further. He mutely nodded his acknowledgement of the instruction and then did as he had so often been taught by his parents to do. He prepared himself to receive instruction.

He cleared his mind of all thought. He knew from experience that this would inevitably cause his mind to be in the best possible awareness to receive The Lord Dayl’s words in their purest and most accurate form.

“Ye must needs discover the resting place of the Sword of Dayl with utmost urgency, my son. For this wickedness has only been stilled for a time and shall come upon thee as thou doth continue with thy quest.”

“Be ye wary of using the Sword of Dayl for any purpose other than its intended afore ye hath prevailed against the malicious wickedness. Shouldst ye come against that which may only in appearance be the malicious wickedness which didst strike thee down even in my presence, the power of The Sword of Dayl shall be rendered futile and thy quest shall surely fail for lack of protection. Yet, the danger is greater even than that. Shouldst ye strike at a Darkeness which is not the selfsame malicious wickedness, The Darke which ye doth erroneously strike shall be forever thy mortal enemy. It shall follow thee and shall not rest itself until thy life hath been severed from itself and ye doth forever serve it, as it would’st of a surety for all time have served thee.”

Once again The Lord Dayl paused.

It was a long pause this time.

So long that Eryen wondered if The Lord Dayl was finished. He was not.

“Once thou hast performed the first purpose set upon the Sword of Dayl, the Sword shall be thy companion and protector for always. Hearken now to the particulars of thy undertaking. Ask not what the ending shall be for thee. Ye shall encounter and uncover these intentions as thou doth navigate thy course.”

“The quest for which thou hath been prepared lies on the crest of two waves. On the one wave exists hatred and chaos, the way of The Darke; on the other wave exists love and harmony, the way of The Lighte.”

“Be ye wary how thou doth choose, Eryen, my dearly beloved, for the wave which appears as the way is not the way.”

“The wave which appears as pain, chaos and destruction shall surely be thy guide to the true way.”

“Ye shall discover whether the wave thou hath elected, leads to hatred and chaos or love and harmony only as thy quest continues. Shouldst ye find thyself mistaken in thy travelling; there shalt be nothing that can be done to save thee from the fate which thou hath elected.”

Overwhelmed, Eryen could not keep quiet and asked quietly, “How will I know which course I must follow, My Lord Dayl?”

“Search thy inner spirit diligently at every turn, my son. I am not permitted to direct thy thoughts to that course which thou must needs follow. There are unseen and unknown dangers with which thou shall be beset. Only thy choosing shall cut off that Darkeness which shall threaten to overwhelm or destroy thee. I am, even as Thou art, subject to the will of The Lighte and, in the end, to Tauan, The Universal Author. Know now that I am with thee and will support thee where and as I am permitted. Know too that there are others who will be the muscle and the vigour to thee as ye journey through the labyrinths which thou must needs traverse. Some companions hath ye known from before. Some hath ye known for thy whole life. Some shall ye find as ye doth journey along thy chosen and necessary path. Of these companions are thy three closest companions whom thou knowest from thy early childhood. Their lives hath been linked unto thy life for all of time and times. Ye shall discover additional of thy companions within strange and unlikely quarters. As thou hath need, these identities shall thou uncover.”

There was another long pause.

Eryen shifted from foot to foot but did not lessen his concentration. If he had not previously understood, he was certainly learning now what an important, arduous and dangerous mission that he and various others were about to undertake.

“Those companions who shalt accompany thee at the beginning of thy journey shall present themselves to thee before ye set out. Be not astounded at the chosen ones, nor be fearful that those who present themselves are indeed chosen, for only those crucial to thy quest shall continue with thee in time and times. Dissemblers sent by The Darkenighte to beleaguer thee, if they shall join with thee, shall remain only for a fleeting moment and then shall they be cast by the wayside as chaff from wheat. Know this, my son. Thou wert chosen for thy task in love by Tauan many aeons hitherto and it is proclaimed that in love shalt thou serve in thy tasks as they must needs be done. That is all that thou art to know at this time. Take careful heed of my words, my son, for once thou hath chosen to turn from listening to them, they shall be erased from thy present mind and only that which thou hath absorbed into and within thy veiled mind shall endure as an assistance for thee in thy grave and perilous undertaking. As The Power of One, thou shalt redress the harms perpetrated by The Darke to prevent an inevitable evanescence of Faeré. Thou hast studied Droyalen’s translated texts and knowest this eventuality to be truth. Sleep in tranquillity for a passing while yet, my son, for I am with thee now and always and no harm shall overcome thee in my presence. On thy waking, my words shall even then ring with truth in thine ears and in thy mind for as long as thou are mindful to hearken to them.”

♦

When he awoke and, as he had been instructed, Eryen once again processed through his mind The Lord Dayl’s vital words of prophesy; he listened intently as The Lord Day’s instructions reverberated through his mind time and again regarding the quest which he was to undertake. He pondered that he possessed The Power of One of the antiquities and all that that would mean to him and his life.

Over and over he allowed the words to wash over his consciousness until, in the depth of his spirit, he felt that he perfectly understood each errand and each of the warnings The Lord Dayl had given him. He promised himself that he would revisit The Lord Dayl’s words and instructions often. There was so much that was unfamiliar to him. He did not want to miss one single nuance.

With a certainty born of a lifelong love and devotion to his deity, Eryen knew that he would follow that voice until the end of time and beyond, no matter where the path led.