The Ways of Winter

Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

Gwyn glanced up from his conversation with his steward Ifor as George brought in the leaders. Idris and Thomas Kethin were already seated around the long table in his council chamber, having delegated most of the tasks of seeing to the travelers to their subordinates. A fire warmed the room behind him, near his desk. Ceridwen walked about the large room while waiting and returned to the table as George came in.

His foster-daughter Rhian slipped in behind George’s group to take her seat next to Ceridwen. She’s still not certain I won’t revoke the privilege, Gwyn noted with amusement, after I let her start attending these sessions a few weeks ago. George remained standing with his people, waiting for everyone’s notice, and Gwyn took advantage of the moment’s delay to look them over. Three fae, two korrigans, and two lutines. That older fae must be Cadugan, the steward his brother Edern sent for. I hope he’s more useful than he seems, Gwyn thought, as the fae stood there impatiently waiting for attention.

He nodded at George to proceed.

“My lord Gwyn, let me present a few of your guests. This is Cadugan, come at Edern’s invitation to help Rhys at Edgewood.” The fae executed a credible court bow and straightened up stiffly. “He leads a party of some twenty-two fae from Britain.”

“Next to him is Meilyr, leading eleven from within your domain.” Meilyr made a respectful bow, but without the old world flourishes.

“I’ve included Cyledr, from your domains, who is traveling by himself, a musician.” Cyledr, much abashed in this company, managed a jerky dip of his head.

George moved on to the korrigans. “May I present also Tiernoc, leading seventeen of his folk from Britain, and Broch, with fifteen from your own domain.” Both executed similar formal bows, sweeping their hats off at the same time.

“Finally, this is Mistress Rozenn with a group of five, and Maëlys whom we picked up on the road, all from Annwn.” The two women curtsied.

George turned to them all and said, “This is my lord Gwyn ap Nudd, Prince of Annwn, whose guests you are. You’ve met Thomas Kethin, his head ranger, and Rhian, his foster-daughter. Here also are Idris, his marshal, Ifor Moel, his steward, and my lady Ceridwen, his scholar and healer.

Gwyn stood. “Welcome to all of you and thank you for coming. Please find seats. I’m sure you’re weary from your travels, and I’ll try not to keep you long.”

He reseated himself and waited for them all to settle.

“Please be assured that we’ll be glad to house and feed you all until you can move on to Edgewood. You won’t be going any further this evening, and the weather controls what will happen next, but the remainder of your journey should be easier.”

He pointed to the southeast. “Our Guests’ Way entrance is just outside the manor gates you passed through. It will take you to our Eastern Shore estate, and within a couple of miles of easy ground with little snow, you will find the entrance to the Edgewood Way, which exits right at the court. There will be snow at Edgewood, as here—it’s about fifty miles due north of us—but I understand the ground around the buildings has been cleared.”

Thomas Kethin added, “Those of you who were on borrowed wagons, we’ll be returning those wagons tomorrow but we’ll supply you with substitutes.”

Cadugan spoke up impatiently. “Can’t we start sooner? I’m eager to begin work after all these delays.”

Gwyn raised an eyebrow, but Cadugan stood his ground. “Let me suggest that you use this time to meet with your counterparts here and start to forge those alliances you’ll need to be effective.” Cadugan reluctantly nodded.

“Please let me explain to you what you’ll be joining,” Gwyn said. He leaned back to begin the familiar tale he’d told to two previous bands of travelers.

“Soon after I removed Annwn to the new world, about 1500 years ago, I granted my exiled sister Creiddylad an estate of her own, to spare her living forever at our father’s court.” The guests nodded their heads; most had heard the tale before.

“Edgewood had only one way, and I controlled the tokens, of course, so it was easy to keep her confined. She, in retaliation, prevented her own people from using the way, too, and so they were shut off from the rest of my domain. From time to time, she allowed settlers to enter through the way, but no one has returned for a very long time.” Everyone listened attentively.

“Overland travel was always possible, of course, but we’ve met no settlers from Edgewood outside those lands, and none of the people we’ve sent there to investigate in the last several hundred years has come back.

“At this most recent Nos Galan Gaeaf, at the end of the year, we held the great hunt with my kinsman and huntsman,” he pointed his chin at George. “For good and sufficient reason, my brother Edern and I renounced our sister afterward and banished her from my domain. Therefore, Edgewood has been free of her for just five weeks after all this time and, as you’ve heard, I’ve appointed my foster-son Rhys, my brother’s grandson, to hold it and began to repair the damage she caused.

“Before you proceed, you must now hear that we have a newly unveiled enemy, Madog, a way-adept. He holds lands to the west of the mountains and for hundreds of years he has influenced Creiddylad and her doings at Edgewood. We believe she’s with him now. He wishes me and mine no good and he may try to do harm here or at Edgewood—be warned.”

He cleared his throat. “So much for the past. Let me tell you what we found when we reopened the closed way to Edgewood.” He gestured to his marshal Idris to continue the tale.

“I’ll just give you a summary since we’re discovering more each day. To begin with, we can find no trace of the lutins or korrigans that we know were there at one time, some as recently as just a few years ago.” This brought a gasp from several at the table. “Let me be clear, we don’t know if they’re dead, hiding, or captive, or even if they’ve somehow left the territory. In the case of the lutins, there’s reason to think they’re in hiding—there are reports of unexplained activities that remind us of the tricks they can play on humans.” Gwyn saw Rozenn smile faintly at that.

“The fae that are there are… changed in some way. Craft masters have diminished and the levels of skill in all areas have deteriorated. Trade is minimal. The farmers on the outskirts of the land are worse, and there is some sort of barrier surrounding the lands. We don’t understand it, but it’s reminiscent of the barrier that marks the ridge line of the Blue Ridge mountain to our west. If you don’t live locally, you may not understand the comparison; fae and others can’t cross that line without damage or death.” Gwyn noted Cadugan rolling his eyes, but Meilyr nodded thoughtfully. “The barrier at Edgewood wasn’t there when the lands were first given to Creiddylad, and we don’t know when it appeared or how it was made, but it may explain why there have been no known overland crossings in either direction.”

Gwyn said, “Let me tell you what’s been done in the last five weeks. My brother Edern is serving as Rhys’s chancellor. I’ve provided a marshal, Lleision, and a weapons-master, Morial, from my own staff. I’ve also placed my kinsman Rhodri, a way-adept, on Rhys’s council.

“At the urging of both Edern and me, Rhys has sent out an invitation to settlers and especially craft-masters to help restart the community. Those of you who will be settling in Edgewood will be holding Rhys as your lord. Some of you are planning only a temporary stay, and that’s acceptable—no one will be required to stay if they wish to leave. That includes the current inhabitants, once we sort out the situation.

“We’ve also set up a courier service. Every afternoon, a rider bearing messages arrives at both Edgewood and here, one from each direction.” At least, so far. Today’s messenger from Rhys was hours late.

He paused to refocus his attention. “Would you please, each of you, tell us something about who you’re bringing to Edgewood?”

To no one’s surprise, Cadugan was the first to step forward. He said, “As you know, Edern has asked me to serve as steward. I would like to meet with you, Ifor, afterward,” bowing to him, “to begin sorting out how the staff I brought with me should be arranged to cause the least disruption.” Ifor nodded.

“I understand that there are three main villages in Edgewood, so I’ve recruited whatever craft-masters were willing to come without worrying too much about possible duplication.” Gwyn thought that unusually practical for someone of his precise temperament. Perhaps he would prove suitable after all, ballast to Rhys’s youth and inexperience. Edern was usually right about the staff he recommended.

“Some of our people brought their families, and perhaps they didn’t understand the degree of danger involved. On the other hand, all are eager for an opportunity to prove themselves at a new court. Those vacancies are not easy to find, in the old world.”

He turned to Ceridwen. “My lady, one of my party is for you, Eluned. I’ll have her seek you out afterward.”

Meilyr said, “Most of my group met for the first time at the inn. We’ve come from all over your domain, my lord,” nodding to Gwyn, “some as craft-masters, same as Cadugan’s, and several seeking kin lost to us these many hundreds of years. I, myself, am looking for one of my sons. I think more will continue to come in for a while, as the word spreads.”

Tiernoc leaned over the table to face Gwyn. “Crafts we want, of course—smithies and iron work—but trade especially. Some of us have never traded in the new world at all, shame to them, and others just want a chance to see what opportunities are here. A few of us are miners in the old way, seeking to join our kinsmen, prospecting.

Broch nodded along and spoke to him, “We welcome you, friend. Let’s meet afterward and discuss mutual ventures here.” Turning to Gwyn, “And a few of us seek family and friends, too. There are many wanting to know what’s happened to them.”

Rozenn in her turn said, shyly, “Most of us are looking for our families, but some also want new opportunities. Many more wait at home to hear what we find and may come themselves, depending.”

Gwyn glanced enquiringly at Maëlys, seated next to Rozenn. She said, quietly, “I’m searching for my husband, my lord, gone eighteen years. I’m from down the road, at Iona’s place.”

The last, Cydifor, gathered his nerve. “I’m from Tredin, my lord. Thought I’d see if your foster-son could use a musician.”

Gwyn hid his smile. Tredin had perhaps ten families—large families, with a reputation for seeding their children widely all over his domain as soon as they could travel. Small wonder this one was motivated to try his chances elsewhere.

He rose to end the meeting. “We’ll send you out tomorrow mid-day, weather permitting.”

The travelers pushed back from the table and left, all except Cadugan whom Gwyn asked to stay behind. It was time to go into more detailed discussions about the situation, and Cadugan would need any information he could get to do his job for Rhys.

As things settled down, Gwyn leaned over to speak with George.

“I’m sorry to see you pulled away from Angharad again. I know how newlyweds like their privacy.”

We should have done it in my world and eloped to Maui, George thought, but he contented himself with saying, “It couldn’t be helped, sir, we understand. There were just too many people, and they needed reassurance.”

Gwyn looked around the table. “I wanted to take this opportunity to bring us up to date together and to let Cadugan catch up. Idris, Ceridwen, please give us a summary of where we are right now.”

Idris looked at Ceridwen and she gestured to him to start first, Rhian attentive by her side.

“We’ve got a working government established, with Edern as chancellor, Lleision as marshal, and Rhodri as an expert on the ways. The biggest concern is defense, with Madog still unaccounted for, and Morial has started recruiting and training. The fae furthest from the boundaries of the territory are most unaffected and are beginning to revive again, a little, now that they see hope and new life.”

“That’s the good news,” he said. “On the other hand, we have hospitals that barely function, the schools are just… gone, and all the buildings and fields show the despair of centuries clearly upon them. We need basic crafts-masters, as Rhys has been recruiting, and education for such children as remain, and maybe for some adults, too.”

George asked, “What about the fae with families?”

“A few have asked about their families elsewhere, which we take as a good sign, but we need a policy about opening the way altogether, not just letting the emigrants in but the residents out, and when. With a caution—what would happen if they all decide to leave, small blame to them?”

Rhian said, “What about the lutins? Has anyone found them?”

“Your brother Rhys has taken them as his special responsibility, with the korrigans, but there’s no sign yet other than those I alluded to earlier: horses groomed in the stalls, lost cows restored, and so forth. The old tasks.”

Ifor told Cadugan, “One other piece of good news—the crops did well at Edgewood and no one will suffer for a hard winter, if we can reach everyone. And we’ve sufficient here to support the visitors as well as ourselves, if we must.”

Ceridwen filled in her part. “As Idris says, the schools have vanished, and most of the healers, too. I’m coming along on this next trip to re-establish everything again, and Eluned will be my delegate after I return.”

Gwyn asked George. “Can you explain for Cadugan where we are with the ways at Edgewood?” He turned to Cadugan to elaborate, “My great-grandson has demonstrated some interesting way-adept capabilities since his arrival, but there hasn’t been enough time to train him properly.”

George leaned forward. “The Edgewood Way seems to be operating normally since Rhodri opened it and remade the way tokens. On my two visits he and I rode as much of the estate as we could reach in a short time looking for any other ways, especially the other end of the way that reaches to Daear Llosg, the Archer’s Way, I think they’re calling it now. That’s still open but sealed at our end, and we assumed the other end would be open as well, since Madog didn’t get to use it as an escape when he fled after the great hunt. We hope that it communicates with Edgewood.

“You may not have heard that we did find one small way not far from the house, one that hadn’t been there when Edgewood was built. Rhodri and I decided to shut it down for greater security, Rhys and Edern concurring, and I collapsed it, like Madog’s Hidden Way outside our palisade after the great hunt. We haven’t found any other ways.” Not yet anyway, he thought.

He caught Cadugan’s skeptical glance. It wasn’t supposed to be possible to completely eliminate a way.

“I felt a hint of something down at the southern end on my last visit, but we didn’t get that far on horseback and I can’t say for sure whether or not it’s the end of the Archer’s Way at the river meadow. I’d like to know; another access direct from here would be useful, even if it’s some distance overland at the Edgewood end.”

He sat back in his chair and summarized for Cadugan’s benefit. “That’s my highest priority task, on my next visit, to track down what I thought I felt at the south end of the estate. It’s at least fifteen miles from Edgewood’s manor, though, so it may have to wait until there’s less snow on the ground.”

Ceridwen broke in. “You haven’t heard. Rhodri sent word yesterday that the way you destroyed has been replaced recently, however impossible that may seem. He says it’s definitely a different way, a bit larger and not in exactly the same place. It’s owned so he can’t claim it. They have it under guard.”

“Is it Madog?” George said, surprised. “Can he just make ways at will? I thought that couldn’t be done.”

“It does seem that our knowledge is… insufficient,” Gwyn said.

George said, “I still don’t understand why no one ever left overland to report on the doings at Edgewood.”

Ceridwen said, “The fae who live closest to the barrier, whatever it is, are also the furthest from the manor, and Rhys has had his hands full, pulled in many directions. They just haven’t investigated very far into it, yet.”

Idris said to Cadugan, “Rhys and Lleision have been concentrating on defense, and this new way is a direct threat. I’ve been getting reports daily from Edern’s couriers, what George here has been calling the Pony Express.”

He turned to face Gwyn, “Do you have today’s reports, my lord? In the confusion of the travelers’ arrival, I haven’t seen them yet.”

Gwyn said quietly. “The messenger hasn’t come.”

Into the shocked silence, Rhian said, tentatively, “Maybe he’s been delayed by the snow?”

Gwyn shook his head doubtfully.

A knock sounded on the door, and one of Idris’s men stuck his head in. “It’s snowing again, my lord.”

Gwyn pushed back from the table. “It’s getting on and you have tasks to occupy you. I’ll see you all at dinner.”

Dismissed, Cadugan and Gwyn’s council members took their leave, Cadugan going over details with Ifor and Ceridwen as they clustered near the door.

George held Ifor back for a moment. “If there’s any problem housing Cydifor or Maëlys, assign them to me. They’re each traveling alone and are probably feeling a bit lost, and I told Maëlys I’d watch out for her.”

He let Ifor go then but lingered on to speak with Gwyn.

“As long as I’m here anyway, sir, I should go with them,” waving at the travelers in the great hall outside, “and see if I can help Rhodri with this new way.”

“I was going to recommend that,” Gwyn said.

“I have a question that’s been bothering me about the ways, though. Perhaps you know the answer? I still don’t understand what’s normal, what to expect. I haven’t been through very many of them yet.”

“Yes?”

“What I wanted to know was, why do most of the ways have a passage, a little distance to traverse between one end and the other?”

“They all do,” Gwyn said, puzzled.

“Well, no, they don’t, not all of them. The one that you opened at the bridge for Nos Galan Gaeaf, for the great hunt, and the ones that Cernunnos opened during the hunt itself—those were all immediate, without passages.”

“Yes, you’re right. Those are exceptions.”

“The one that brought me here, what Rhodri now calls the Huntsman’s Way, has no passage, either.”

“I didn’t know that,” Gwyn said slowly. “Perhaps Cernunnos has his own methods and the few scholars who write about the ways haven’t attended the great hunt and seen them. It seems there’s a lot we’ve been taking for granted about how the ways work.”

He looked hard at George. “Given your presumed relationship, did Cernunnos open the Huntsman’s Way, or did you?”

George said, “I have no idea how to open a way. I didn’t know they existed, before I came here.”

But since then you’ve destroyed two, enlarged one, and sealed one, he thought to himself. It’s no surprise that Gwyn asks the question.