The Banished Bandraoi

Five by Five

My staff felt amazing in my hands again. Dark and simple, but powerful. The brown oak was engraved with the ancient tongue for protection and strength. Only dark magic could break it. Diarmuid was summoned back to commune with the gods and goddesses; an ability only he had been given. 

The fool left without telling me the message he had been sent to deliver on purpose, saying that if I really wanted to know, I would look for him. I was not going to waste precious time chasing a deranged demigod. There were only 3 weeks to the apocalypse and the temple was scheduled to be demolished in one day. I needed to meditate and hope that the goddesses were going to be generous with their power.

After 8 hours sitting in one position in silence, I opened my eyes to a dusky evening and the inscriptions on my staff glowing. The tattoos burned onto my skin swirled and shifted, with new ones appearing beside them. The ancient tongue would look like meaningless squiggles to the mortal eyes, but it was the simplest to read as a demigoddess. It was my first language and it taught me my spells and rituals. And at this moment, it gave me strength and power from the ancient ones. 

A painful burn on my chest made me scream and double over. I ripped open my corset to see a new symbol burn its way onto my skin. Áine's mark. A red mare with its mane up in the wind. The pain subsided a little after a moment. It had been years since a goddess endowed me with her power. Áine was the goddess of summer, love, protection, fertility, wealth, and sovereignty. I understood the need for protection but not for the others. Other stronger goddesses could provide protection alone. 

Then the mortal man came to my mind. no..... I couldn't be in love... could I?

Just the thought was unspeakable. 

Darkness was drawing near and I needed to leave the shrine. Closing up my corset and picking up my staff, I moved to walk towards my house. It was cold and lonely in comparison to the O’Ceallaigh mansion. But at least I was safe there. I cast a protection spell over the house and lit up several candles for light. A slight draught blew in making me shiver. I conjured some wood and started a small fire to warm up the little cottage. 

A bowl of bone broth and a slice of stale bread were all I could get for dinner. It was against my morals to steal food from the townspeople, despite my mother's wishes. It was the use of my power for evil and I did not want to be an evil sorceress. I sat silently by the fire having my dinner when I heard a knock on my door. I was not expecting guests and with my protective spell, only a deity could see my house. It was protected from all who were foe. And I didn't have any friends... did I?

I picked my staff and moved toward the door. I opened it to find a shaking Alva at the door. 

"Alva? What are you doing here? It's dark out," I said as I ushered her in," Come on in. It's not safe outside." She walked in, still shaking, and stood awkwardly by the fire.

"Please, sit," I urged, and after she did, I asked, "Why are you here at this time? Is something the matter?" She looked up at me and tears welled in her eyes. "It's the young miss..." she started, then sniffled. 

"What happened to Emma?" I demanded, getting impatient.

"She is ill. She has a fever and keeps convulsing. The doctor's medicine only makes her vomit. The poor thing hasn't eaten in almost 2 days. The Master says you cursed her. Please tell me it is not true," she finished, tears streaming down her face. 

I remembered the spell I cast as I left. It was a forgetting spell, yet Alva remembered her. The spell only worked where no bonds had been made and no emotions had grown. 

"The master, how is he?" I asked.

"Angrier than ever. He refuses to eat and spends all his time either in his study or out hunting. He won't speak to anyone except in curses and insults," she said, looking away.

The spell I cast would adversely affect those who had been bound to the caster. "And you, how have you been?" She looked at me in surprise.

"Um..mam, I am a no one. You need not worry yourself about me," she said with a nervous chuckle.

"I need to know."

"I have had a horrible headache since the Miss got sick. And the tremours..." she drifted off and I realized that even though she was sitting closer to the fire than was safe, she was still trembling. 

"We need to return to the mansion as soon as possible. It is not safe outside right now so we will have to use magic to travel. Will you mind?" I asked.

"Not at all, mam."

I put on my cloak and picked up my staff. Taking her hand, I whispered a short spell that would conceal us as we moved. 

Upon reaching the mansion, I remembered that the master had banished me from his house and I couldn't walk in until invited. Unfortunately, I had to hold them and chant a counterspell to cure them. 

"I cannot come in," I said quietly to Alva. 

"Why not? The master will not kill you if you heal the young miss," she said assuringly.

"That is not it. I cannot enter someone's home without their invitation."

Alva went quiet for a moment, then her eyes sparkled and she said, " wait here. I will be back in a moment."

She ran off and in a few minutes, true to her word, she showed up with two other maids in tow and a bundle in her arms. She lifted her hands, beckoning me to follow her. I did and down a trail we went, silent as the night. We came up to a small cottage and Alva opened the door. She then asked me for my full name and invited me in. 

Her home was small but very warm, and not just in temperature. Goodness and kindness were thriving in there. Alva lay the bundle on the little bed in the room, to expose a flushed and sweating little Emma. She convulsed a little making me run to her side. I held her little hand and chanted softly,

"Memories taken

Pain caused

Mother, Crone,

Forgive and heal,

Restore and renew,

No more pain, no more sorrow,

Memories restore."

Emma shook once again before she opened her eyes. She turned and saw me. She jumped, hugging me saying, "I had the most horrid of terrors. Thank you for coming back, Byrne."

I hugged her back then ushered Alva to sit for me to reverse the effects of my spell on her. Immediately, the headache and tremours seized. 

"We must go tell father!" Emma said happily as she got up to head out. 

I stopped her saying, "I am not welcome in your father's house anymore. Alva will take you back home now before he notices you are gone."

Emma stopped for a moment thinking, then said, "If I live there, doesn't it make it my home too?"

"I believe it does, in a manner of speaking," I agreed.

"Then come on! Let us go!!"

There were severe consequences for entering one's home uninvited. Should this not work, the tattoos all over my body would burn and they wouldn't stop burning until the owner of the house prayed to my mother with a small sacrifice and then invited me in. Unfortunately, this was not a sure solution because my mother had the option of rejecting the sacrifice and denying my peace. The pain from the burns would eventually drive me to my death. 

In a few minutes, we were at the main gate and the guards aimed their lances at me. They saw Emma and thought I had stolen her until she spoke up.

"She healed me. Don't hurt her, please," then she turned to me and said, " Byrne Annan, daughter of the Phantom Queen, welcome in." 

I healed my breath and took one step into the manor.