11: With One Ring To Find Them

Chapter 11 of "A Grail for Eidothea"

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Eidothea and Llyr meet the king’s sister, Lady Angharad. The current king is a caretaker king awaiting the next Chosen Court (which hasn’t existed for generations, until now). To avoid suspicions about Eidothea’s presence, Llyr concocts a faux betrothal. The next day they set out to meet Eidothea’s grandmother…

Before we had a chance to announce our arrival, the door flew open. :Berle—: The woman stopped, her joyous expression freezing, then shifting into confusion. Silver strands scattered through her dark hair. :Ceridwy ferch Heddwch, what brings you here? I swear, I thought my daughter was at my door.: Her gaze encompassed me and her nostrils flared. :Who are you and what have you done to my daughter?:

Ceridwy interceded. :Elin, this is her daughter.:

Elin stumbled backward, her mouth gaping. :But—but—: She scowled at Ceridwy and Llyr. :You will excuse us. This is a private family matter.: She leaned forward, grabbed my arm and hauled me into the house, slamming shut the door. Water swirled around us, dragging the hems of our robes.

:Her daughter? Eidothea?: We stood in a large antechamber that doubled as a lounging area, given the stone benches and seaweed cushions.

I nodded and she harrumphed, releasing my arm. :Follow me.:

I followed her out of the antechamber and through another room before we entered a third, smaller, room. A skylight delivered a shaft of light onto a table made of grey fossilised wood. Chairs stood at angles around it, also made of the same stone. My fingertips grazed the tabletop, meeting cold stone.

:How is it you have Berlewen’s essence?:

I explained and gently informed her that her daughter had died.

:I feared it.: Elin’s stern expression faltered for a moment.

I hazarded a question. :How could you tell it was my mother’s energy? Her grym bywyd?:

:She gave too much to you, hwyres, child. You are as much Berlewen as Eidothea when I scented you on the water. We Grealseekers have always been able to identify family members, beyond eyesight.: Elin paced the length of the small meeting room.

I curtsied. :It is an honour to meet you, grandmother.:

She stopped midstride and grabbed the table to prevent herself from falling. :Ah, hwyres. It’s not been much of a welcome for you, has it.: Elin called out for refreshments and bade me sit. She patted my shoulder before sitting next to me.

:I came here because I have never met my mother’s family, but I also have questions.:

Elin patted my hand, looking a little distracted. :Of course you do, hwyres. But take something to eat and drink first.:

I have not written of what we ate and drank there. Know it looked wonderful and reminded me of tales told of Fae banquets, except these were nourishing, and slightly fishy.

When I had eaten a little, I asked, :Why is it only our family who seeks the Greal? Why is everyone else not looking for it also, if it is so essential to the dreigiau môr?:

:Your mother never spoke of it?:

I shook my head. :She told me stories but not that one.:

:There are a few other families who seek the Greal, but their motives are less than altruistic. There is also the cost of our ancestors choosing to become dreigiau môr. Many cannot safely leave the ocean, or at least not for long. Still fewer are able to leave the shore behind or travel more than a few miles inland before they are overwhelmed by an intense desire to return to the ocean. Ten miles is the furthest any dreigiau môr has managed and that was Berlewen.:

I frowned. :How is that possible for my mother and nobody else?:

:Our family has been arranging marriages and offspring for generations to increase the distance we can travel. Once we realised that the Greal was further inland than any normal draig môr could reach, we had to find a way to break through the barrier. We have our human allies, but for an object of this power, we could trust no other but ourselves to complete this task. Your mother set us back by marrying a human and birthing you. Who knows how long it will be before another Grealseeker can manage the distance?:

The idea I could no longer leave the coast galled me, even though I had spent my entire life there and knew no other. :But … but I was once only half-dreigiau môr. Am I no longer able to travel over land?:

Elin shrugged. :You are Berlewen’s daughter. It is possible you will be able to go even further, or perhaps not at all.:

:I have spent all my life by the sea.  I have never needed to go more than a few miles inland.: I gnawed at my lip in worry. How could I find the Greal if constricted to the shoreline?

Elin sighed. :At this rate, we may never recover the Greal. The need for it fades with every generation. The current royal family has done well in keeping all dreigiau môr safe.:

:The other reason I came to see you, grandmother, is to ask for help in finding the Greal. Because there is a Chosen Court, or at least the beginnings of one.:

Elin set down her goblet. :What are you saying? We have a new prophet? A new monarch?: She leapt from her chair, resuming her pacing.

It seemed to be her way of digesting information and making decisions. Fearing scheming machinations against Llyr and his family, I hesitated in my answer.

:Yes,: I said at last. :It seems I am the new prophet. I had a vision.:

:Which you had when you touched another’s Chosen birthmark, am I right?: Elin continued to  pace.

I nodded. My grandmother seemed to be a font of arcane knowledge.

Elin clapped her hands in girlish excitement. :One of our family! Even if you are not a true draig môr, I am happy to claim this honour for our family. Maybe the Greal is now within reach? Why else would a new Chosen Court be called?:

It sounded less like speculation and more like wild hope.

:Maeve said the king needs the Greal in order to truly become king, so it must be found for us to have a chance of stopping the vision from coming true. It was quite horrible.:

Elin pointed at my chest. I looked down and saw my mother’s pearl ring had escaped the confines of my robe. :That will help. Before we loaned the Greal to Arthur Pendragon, we magically connected this ring with it. We sadly thought it would be a sufficient safeguard should the Greal not be returned.:

:Did it not work?: I turned the ring over and over.

:It does, but …: My grandmother showed me how, her mind alongside mine, guiding me in the spell’s steps. As it is a family secret, I will not share the method, even here.

In my mind’s eye, I saw … nothing. All was darkness. I felt a weight pressing against me.

:We think it is buried, and of course, there is no clue as to where.:

I stared at the ring. I remained connected to it even though the vision of its location began to fade.

:You will be able to sense how close you are to the Greal through that ring. What are you doing?:

I’d brought the ring up to my lips and licked the pearl.

:That is a precious ancient artifact!:

:Saliva cannot be that different from seawater.: I retorted. Elin sputtered. :It tastes … odd. Like blood but also like chalk or minerals?: I could not decipher the taste.

:That would be the pearl.: Elin sat, head slumped forward in her hands. :You are not trained, not prepared for this. Berlewen is gone and a new Chosen Court is rising. You cannot, must not, fail, Eidothea. I would send a cousin or uncle with you, but one is too young and the other is about to give birth.:

Which was which? I wondered. :I will have my father to help—:

:You can’t trust a human with this—: It seemed I got my lack of forethought from my maternal side.

:Precisely why it has been lost all these years. One human breaks his promise and the rest of us are marked as unreliable.:

We glared at each other.

:You are so like your mother, I can only hope that brings you success. Even she didn’t trust your father.: She waved a hand. :Be off with you, hwyres. I know I should welcome you in with open arms but I must mourn my daughter … and try not to despair.:

I rose and curtsied. :I will do my best, grandmother.: Hiding the ring within my robes, I returned to the entrance and onto the street. Ceridwy was nowhere to be seen but Llyr waited for me.

:You survived unscathed, I see.: He linked my arm with his.

I leaned into him. :No visible wounds, at least.:

His hand squeezed my arm. I shared what had passed between myself and my grandmother. He heard all the insurmountabilities of my quest. :I wish I could come with you.:

:I am not sure what help—:

:You wouldn’t be alone in the venture.: He gazed down at me with sincerity shining in his eyes.

:Then set aside learning about the Chosen Court with Maeve until after we have found the Greal. There will not be a Chosen Court until we find it.:

Llyr liked my impulsive suggestion. :I will travel to Maeve tomorrow, let her know that our plans have changed…and there is something I must ask her before we go.:

:You do not wish me to accompany you? If anyone should converse with the prophet, it should be me, the prophet to come.:

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