Guardian of the Gate

Dappled light danced over the soft forest floor as beams of sun played with the leaves of the trees high above. Beech, oak, and yew stood tall and proud, sentinels of this ancient land. Colours of autumn were in abundance, the forest a tapestry of deep hues. Golds, and browns, and reds, interspersed with the ever present green. Occasional bursts of bright summer colours caught the eye. Purples, pinks, blues, yellows and more. Flora, stubborn of the changing seasons along with pixies, sprites, and a plethora of other low fae flying about. Warmer days would be rare until spring came a-calling once more.

Heledd loved the journey from the kingdom to the sea border. The slow days of freedom and sanctuary that the forest provided. Quiet, away from the bustling streets whom all within the hidden kingdom lived… despite being in the heart of the forest itself. Here, with the stone streets and buildings and people distant, only fauna and flora and forest fae as company, Heledd felt at peace. She looked forward to the time of the new moon, heralding when she would make the journey to the wall. After a week of duty there, the return journey back through the forest. The reprieve was always welcome, and never a moment too soon.

Following the river downstream, within a couple of days' walk of the city, the salt smell of the sea began wafting through the trees to tickle the nose. The ocean mist followed not long after that, rolling in with thick tendrils, grasping and reaching. This was a killing mist. Not the usual greeting that Heledd was welcomed to, where the forest and the sea kissed.

Thunder rumbled in the distance and as if the sound was permission, a deluge poured from above. Vicious and violent enough that even the giant oaks with their sturdy limbs creaked under the onslaught, and Heledd was sure to be completely drenched through by the time she reached the heavy doors that marked the fort’s entrance. Light managed to sneak through the gap where the doors met each other and the floor, but other than that it was black as pitch. The Sky was angry, and this close to the ocean it was wont to rile up its brother Sea.

Heledd shouldered her way inside, into the dry if not breezy shelter that the small fort enjoyed. Shouting a greeting, it was lost beneath the sound of yet another angry cry from above. When she looked around it was obvious that there was no one there who would have returned it anyway. The fort was abandoned. Cots abutting the sides of the rooms lay empty and rumpled, their sheets thrown away, laying in trailing messes where they had been abandoned. Chairs, a mix of still standing and fallen, were all a distance from the scattered tables with half eaten bowls atop. All were now cold.

Wind howled. The crash of violent waves broke against the cliffs, joining the cacophony of night. The gate. They must be at the gate. Racing through the small building, Heledd made her way towards the armoury. Flashing forked from the sky and illuminated the darkened corridor. Her heart beat against her ribs, the thumping fast and heavy. She chose her weapons, no metal, and armed herself, abandoning her sodden pack and raced once more to the cliff door.

It swung away from her, stolen from her grasp by the vengeful wind which did its best to snatch her away, into the waiting jaws of an angry sea. Clinging to the wall, Heledd managed to keep her footing and pressed her back hard to the cliff face. She made her way carefully along the treacherous path. It was fraught, and her heart beat harder. She had never seen the twins so angry before. This was not natural, surely it could not be. It was dark. So dark. It was only memory and instinct that kept Heledd from falling to the rocks below, and it was fear for the forest that kept her moving onward. She could not think of herself right now or the precarious position she was in. There! The gatehouse, a beacon of light just up ahead. Another flash of lightning quickly followed by another clap of thunder both deafened and illuminated.

No! Goddess, please no! That brief flash showed the destruction and the battle being waged below, and the devastating reality that the gate was not yet closed. The gate had to be closed before it was too late, the sea coming to claim the forest and the kingdom. Sea fae. A small army of them now overwhelming her comrades, and the gate was not closed.

Even as Heledd worked her way ever closer, the sounds of the battle were still lost. Flashes of light were becoming more and more frequent and more and more bloody bodies greeted her sight. The fae were confident in their footing and of their increasingly likely success. Heledd could not allow that to happen. She had to get the gates closed, no matter how much she wished to defend and avenge her fellow guards.

More and more fae emerged from the sea, blocking the way ahead. The water was coming in closer and closer.

Up. I have to go up. Back to the forest and find a way around. Heledd turned her attention away from the chaos and to the slick wall and the daunting task ahead of her. The rain pelted, stinging and slashing, constant pricks of bruising pain. The drops bit at her exposed hands as she reached up, grasping the first handhold. Up. Go up. She repeated, willing the chant to grant her the strength to do so. The wind buffeted and the rock protested, but up she went. Footholds were scarce and handholds tenuous. It was only with some otherworldly determination did Heledd finally reach the top and onto flat land, battered and bruised and bloody with a dislocated shoulder too no doubt, but she had made it.

The brush of leaves against her face reminded her of her purpose. The forest. The gates. Heledd clambered to her feet and sprinted back into the trees. She had to go around, find some other path to the gates and close them from that way. She was determined to succeed, no matter the toll on her being. With renewed energy, she pressed on, desperate to reach her destination. She would not give up. Heledd pushed through the undergrowth, branches whipping her face as she struggled to stay upright. She could feel her strength waning, but she kept going. She had to keep going. She had to close the gates.

Heledd ran through the edge of the forest that stood upon the clifftop, her shoulder throbbing with every step. She ran, and ran some more. If she was not there and the gates were not closed soon, all would be lost.

Skidding to a stop, Heledd barely kept her footing, the lagoon coming into view below. Usually calm and inviting, now it was a swirling, churning mass of broils and swells. But there they were, the gates, just where the lagoon met the sea. So she jumped and hoped she would make it.

For a moment she was weightless and thoughtless and free. Then the sharp slam of the water and the tossing of unforgiving waves pulled her back to reality. Swim! Heledd fought and pushed and swam. Time was meaningless and yet eternal as the sky and the sea protested to her journey. But then she was there, clambering desperately to the rocks. She took a moment to steady her footing, before expelling the saltwater that had made its way into her lungs. The gate. Another few crawling steps and she was there, leaning heavily against the great, towering pillars constructed to protect the land from the beyond.

The power of the beyond was vast and all consuming, but Heledd planted her feet and found her roots in the slick stone beneath her and connected her spirit back to the forest that stood as it always had, confidently, behind her. She could feel them, the trees, the woodland folk and the spirit of the forest and the kingdom at its heart. She could feel the magic of the place, a magic that had seen her through the darkest of times. She knew that nothing could break the bond between her and the forest. It was her sanctuary and her home. And she was its defender.

Strengthened by her roots, Heledd reached deep into the well of power within her and drew from it. She drew and drew, planting deep and defending her home. She stood against the power of the sea and the sky.

Heledd closed the gates.

The ribbon of magic burst from her still racing heart, weaving between the great lumber sentinels from top to bottom before solidifying to an impenetrable wall of will. Her home was safe.

By Morgan Christy Rickards