LsrnyKly(CN3)
Chevron Nine Part 3: Lossyr-ny-Keylley
Major Samantha Carter pried loose the panel at the base of the Stargate. Most of the circuitry looked fine, but the charred smell had to come from somewhere. Her eyes suddenly fell on a bundle of nine cables. One branched away, and it was clear that it led to the nearest chevron. It was damaged, but not irreparably.
Carter checked the other eight cables, running her hand down their length until she found the device they should have been connected to.
Or what was left of it.
***
As Sha'uri's cry faded, Daniel could faintly hear a whispered spell, and he landed dazed but unharmed in an open courtyard. "I now understand your plight," the spellcaster said, her voice familiar.
Daniel looked up to see the Queen of the Fairies standing over him with a hand extended to help him up. He took it gratefully and hauled himself to his feet.
"Sha'uri, in this world, is the Lossyr-ny-Keylley, the goldfinch," the Queen continued. "She was transformed into the bird by the Ocean God, Manannan Mac-y-Leirr, and brought here as revenge against you for failing to return his treasures to him."
"What?! If he wanted his blasted treasure, why didn't he come after me, the son of a-" He took a deep breath and reined in his anger; in a place where fairies were real, it probably wasn't a good idea to insult a god. "What does Sha'uri have to do with it? Why her?"
"Manannan Mac-y-Leirr knows the minds and hearts of men," the Fairy Queen said gently. "He can bestow the greatest joys - or the most unbearable anguish."
Okay, so this was definitely not a guy you wanted to anger. "So how do I find her?"
"Go inside the palace, and all will become clear. I will be here when you return, and I will bring you back to the place where we met. You can then return home with your wife." The Fairy Queen disappeared before Daniel could so much as thank her.
At the doors of the palace, he met two young men. If this is the myth of the Lossyr-ny-Keylley, these must be two of the sons of King Ascon, Daniel thought. He gathered from their conversation that they were Bris and Cane, the elder brothers. So I'm in the place of Gil, the youngest.
The three entered the palace together, apparently at the summons of the king. Ascon himself looked sad. "My sons," he said. "I am struck with a dilemma concerning your inheritance. As there is only one crown, only one of you can be king. However, if I leave the kingdom to but one of you, the other two will have nothing."
Daniel racked his brain for the next part of the story. "I propose a test," he said. "Perhaps the one who can capture the Lossyr-ny-Keylley, the goldfinch that sings at your window each spring, and bring it back to stay all year, shall become king of Ellan Vannin."
King Ascon brightened. "Excellent idea, Daniel, my son!" he cried.
"That should not be a difficult task," "Bris bragged. "I could complete it easily."
Cane would not allow his brother to one-up him. "Indeed, I could find and capture a small bird without difficulty."
Daniel said nothing, merely bowing to the king and exiting the palace with the other two young men.
***
They left at sunup the next day, sailing westward into the open ocean. After only a few hours, they landed on an island and were met by a woman who kept the inn that was the only building on the tiny piece of land. "Welcome, Princes of Ellan Vannin."
"How do you know us?" Bris asked.
She evaded the question. "I know you and your destination."
Before Bris could say something rude, Daniel said, "Then perhaps you can help us. We come in search of the land of the goldfinch, but we do not know how to find it."
"You must continue on your course until you come to another island," the woman said. "You will find on the shore two roads, a straight one leading north, and a smaller, less-traveled one leading south. Take the second path. Beyond that, I cannot help you."
"Thank you," Bris growled, glaring at Daniel as if to say, I am the eldest; you will let me speak.
They soon came to the island the woman had described, and found an old man waiting by the side of the south road. "Bannaghtyn!" he greeted them. "I am Yn Oallagh. What brings you to this fair land?"
Bris shot another dark look at Daniel. "We seek the land of the goldfinch."
The old man gave Daniel a spear and pointed to a boulder that towered above even Cane, the tallest of the four men. "Strike a blow on that rock."
Daniel swung the spear and struck the rock, the front of which shattered, revealing a seemingly bottomless hole.
"You must descend beneath the earth to find the land of the goldfinch," Yn Oallagh said.
"How do you expect us to do that, old man?" Bris demanded.
Yn Oallagh produced a rope. "I will lower you down."
Bris snatched up the end of the rope. "Then let me down first, as I am the eldest."
"Are you certain? The descent is dangerous, possibly deadly."
"I will not let that stand between me and my father's crown," Bris said.
Yn Oallagh began to lower Bris down into the pit, but before long, the inevitable swinging of the rope knocked the younger man against the sharp rocks in the sides of the passage. He called up to Yn Oallagh to bring him back to the top.
Cane went next, with the same result. The old man finally turned to Daniel and said, "It is your turn to try. For, as your people say, 'Ta cree doie ny share na kione croutagh.'"
"'A kind heart is better than a crafty head,'" Daniel murmured by way of translation. He allowed Yn Oallagh to lower him down, and was surprised to hit bottom before the rope had begun to sway considerably. He was in a brightly lit world, at the gates of a palace, where he was greeted by a young woman.
"Welcome, Daniel, Prince of Ellan Vannin," she said. Daniel had ceased to be surprised at total strangers knowing his name. "Be warned, now: the journey to the land of the goldfinch will take you seven years, and to return will take equal time."
"I am prepared to go anyway, no matter how long it takes, if I will find my wife there."
The woman smiled. "Truly, a kind heart is better than a crafty head. Take my horse, and you can be there in an hour. Come." She led him to a stable, and passed the finest horses Daniel had ever seen. At the very end of the row of stalls was a mare that looked half-starved and badly in need of exercise. "Will you accept this poor creature, or will you choose another?"
"She suits my needs. Thank you," Daniel said as he climbed into the saddle.
The mare soon took him to a white marble castle with gold turrets: the palace of the King of the Land of the Goldfinch. He was surprised that the journey had gone without incident, as he had never ridden a horse before.
Dismounting, however, was not so easy. Daniel's foot caught in the stirrup, and he tumbled from the saddle to land on his back in the grass. His vision blurred, and he hoped foggily that he didn't have a concussion. When his head cleared enough for him to think about sitting up, he realized there was someone standing over him, frowning down at him. Daniel hauled himself to his feet, steadying himself with a hand in the horse's mane. He recognized the man with the reddish-gold crown as the King of the Land of the Goldfinch. "You have come for my goldfinch," the king said. It was a statement, not a question.
"I have," Daniel replied.
The king nodded. "Then come with me."
He led a very confused Daniel into the palace, where he took a cage from a pedestal beside the throne. What about performing twice three tasks? Daniel thought. Wasn't there supposed to be a sort of deadly version of hide-and-seek? He can't be giving up the goldfinch this easily.
But he was. He handed the cage to Daniel, and said, "You have my pet. Now go!"
Startled at the sudden viciousness in the king's voice, Daniel all but ran out of the palace. The instant he was outside the gates, the cage in his hand disappeared, and the goldfinch was transformed back into human form. Sha'uri pulled Daniel into a grateful kiss.
The moment was shattered when the mare trotted up and spoke. "We must leave this land. Beware the treachery of the king."
Suddenly reminded of the rest of the myth, Daniel mounted the saddle and helped Sha'uri up after him. "Hang on tight," he said. Sha'uri wrapped her arms around his waist and squeezed her eyes shut as the mare took off at full gallop.
After a moment, the mare said to Daniel, "Look back toward the palace. Do you see anything?"
"An army! Why would the king send an entire army just to catch the three of us?"
"What color are their standards?"
"White."
"Then they will not trouble us." The mare redoubled her speed, and the army soon sank below the horizon.
Not long after, the mare again called Daniel's attention to the lands they were swiftly leaving behind. "What do you see?"
"Another army, larger than the first."
"Their standards?"
"Red."
"Then we can outrun them." Indeed, they soon lost their host of pursuers.
They had almost reached their destination when the mare once again said, "Look behind us. Is anything there?"
"In the distance, another army, gaining on us!"
"What color are there standards?"
"I can't tell, they're too far off... No, I see them!" Having expected to see black banners, indicating that the three of them would escape, Daniel was seized with terror when he saw golden flags. "They're yellow!"
The mare cried out in an eerily inhuman voice, and collapsed to her knees. Daniel was thrown to the ground and lost consciousness.
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