We skirted the edges of the lake until eventually encountering a tributary. To say it was a spring or creek would be disparaging. It was at least a small river, about a mile across as it emptied into the Herd"s waters. The Kelpies had no need for bridges, they simply forded the river in their water form. It was here that riding mounts made more sense to me than using a Skimmer.The gentle beasts that had bonded and imprinted on us were easily convinced to traverse and follow the Kelpies into the waters. What was surprising and was really interesting was the adaptability of the riding equipment. A few adjustments to frequency and attunement and the force barrier that was usually projected to keep out wind and bugs was, instead, adapted to generate a field of energy that would keep mount and rider dry.
The mounts still had to wade and swim, but their progress was made much simpler as the water was displaced. A wedge of force creating a path that eased travel, and kept the mount and rider alike from panic when strong streams and rushing waters were encountered.
I wondered, briefly, why the equipment didn"t come with a setting to allow the animals to simply walk on water. It seemed an easy adjustment to harden the force barrier under each mount so that they could step on the projected energy barrier. I added it to the growing list of items that I would need to understand, and as a possible technological innovation, something I might be able to cobble together as a source of funding when I had my own lands.
The only difficult part of the trip occurred when we needed to cross a ravine. It was the reason we hadn"t simply been given a map and coordinates and sent on our way.
Our guide led us to a felled tree that served as a pathway and shortened the distance we would need to go. If not for this crossing, our journey would be extended for days longer. And although the path was tricky and hard to navigate, the real challenge had been discovering the starting point, the way through was glamoured and camouflaged making it hard to find.
Lord Haygan had used brush and forest growth to hide his actions and enhance the glamour that had been cast. A hedge had been crafted and encouraged to grow into a maze-like structure, protected by small arrays had been stationed strategically along the maze path and if triggered would cast confusion. Those not versed in the secrets of this maze might find themselves trapped here, indefinitely.
The further we traveled the more sense that made. The lands we were crossing could no longer be logically claimed as Herd lands. How they found this mine, would need to be something else Duke A"Daoine would have to discover.
It was possible that this area was unclaimed, and the Kelpie could by treaty or eminent domain claim possession. But if they had encroached on another Lord"s territory, withheld taxes and failure to register a dungeon would be the least of the issues Blayney would need to consider.
Lord Haygan may have invited war between territories.
We entered the maze cautiously. Marked out a trail and always made left turns. The guide was uncertain of the correct path, never having actually walked the maze.
It made no difference that we were systematic and methodical in approach, the more we walked the paths that had been constructed, the more lost we became. It was after the third time that we found the entrance to the maze that Lohne realized that the arrays that cast confusion were placed there as a misdirection.
They were formation keystones, arrays linked to a much more powerful formation that continuously allowed the maze to restructure paths, move markers, and would always lead the party back to the entrance.
Our guide had no idea how to turn off the formation or negate the effects. The Kelpie didn"t use this path. It was easier for them to a.s.sume serpent form and simply swim upstream using the river. Which is probably how they managed to find the mine in the first place.
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"You could burn the maze to the ground," Uron suggested, "I doubt the formation is powerful enough to re-grow destroyed hedges."
"I wouldn"t be so sure of that," Lohne replied, "Kelpie make the best farmers for a reason. It"s not just because their horse form allows them advantages in tilling and plowing the land. They have a connection with plants.
"If they fertilized these hedges with their blood, I doubt fire will work. The regenerative properties of the blood will mean the hedges simply rebuild and repair the damage."
"Are they still tied to nature and the cycle of dormancy that happens during winter?" I asked.
"They should be," Lohne answered after taking a moment to consider my question.
"But we are in a temperate zone. It never really gets cold enough for plants to enter dormancy here. And winter is still months away."
"Did you get a new Aura?" Cedric wondered.
"I"m not sure," I responded, "but if I can radiate Belenos Aura, it makes sense that I would be able to do the same with Cyronax."
"That might just work," Lohne agreed. "And depending on the temperature you can generate with the aura; you may be able to destroy the formation."
Cyronax was the G.o.d of Winter. When I"d fought with the Wild Hunt, I"d managed, somehow, to change the properties of Belenos Aura so that it burned cold fire. The principles should be the same.
I knew how to create spells. Creating the fireball spell had shown me that the process was pretty straight forward. Will. Form. Intent. I connected almost instinctively with magic by now, shaping paths and holding the possibility in my mental grasp.
Motioning for everyone to stand back, I moved to the entrance of the maze and released my intent.
[Cyronax Aura learned -You have imbued your aura with aspects and power from Cyronax. Cyronax Aura - Elemental Ice Debuff.]
Extending Cyronax Aura as I would Belenos Aura, I watched as plants fought against the effects of cold and winter. Regenerating and repairing any damage they took. The aura I was generating wasn"t cold enough to do what I"d envisioned.
Reaching deeper, I fought to grasp that part of my bloodline that made me Unseelie. The magics and inheritance that the G.o.d Cyronax had gifted me. Slowly, as I coaxed and harnessed the bits of me that I had long ignored, that had just awakened, I began to gain control.
As I gained control, I experienced the same pleasure, the same satisfaction I experienced when I projected Beleros" Aura. I realized that I had fallen into a trap. A mental bias and prejudice had somehow taken root. In my mental landscape, I had a.s.signed values and traits to the Unseelie that had no reason.
Good and evil.
Seelie versus Unseelie.
I had allowed myself to become inured into att.i.tudes and beliefs that had no basis. I hadn"t met an Unseelie yet, but still, I"d begun to think of them as others. I knew the fallacy of logic that kind of thinking generated. Good and evil existed in all people.
I had been holding back from embracing my Unseelie nature, not because I"d had no time to really compartmentalize or examine the benefits that bloodline might bring, but because I had erroneously linked that Unseelie with Evil.