Day 16 of Midwinter, Midday

Cruachan, Midlands

Annwn

The first stretch of the tunnel took the longest. Sétanta and I crawled through the same narrow chute I’d dragged him through earlier… only this time, he managed most of it himself. Mostly.

I had worried we wouldn’t be able to find our way out, but the stone’s surface glowed with faint luminescence. When Aillén had lit the way for me hours ago, the light was stronger, illuminating only the turns I needed. Now, a gentle shimmer coated every surface. I suspected the entity within me, whatever it was calling itself now, was softening its presence, trying not to draw attention.

According to my soul-bound affliction, Aillén’s true name had been Belenus. The name was familiar, but I couldn’t place where I’d heard it. Maybe during my studies under Morias? As I pondered, a low, amused chuckle echoed in my mind. Startled out of my musings, I turned my attention to my companion.

I had made the boy go first, quietly telling him which turns to take. He didn’t know what waited ahead, but I did. The corpses of his fianna lay in a nearby cavern, mangled from when I’d put them down. He’d been unconscious then. But I wasn’t taking him there. We would find another way out.

I WILL LIGHT THE WAY.

So Belenus could read my thoughts. Useful...but unsettling. I wondered how he knew so much about the structure that imprisoned him.

MY LIGHT SHINES THROUGH MINERAL AND ROCK. IT BENDS AND REFLECTS. I HAVE HAD THOUSANDS OF MOON CYCLES TO STRETCH THE LIMITS OF MY PROJECTION IN ORDER TO LEARN THE SECRETS OF CRUACHAN.

“I’m tired,” Sétanta mumbled. Though his smaller size should’ve helped in the cramped tunnel, the Bánánach’s touch still lingered. His skin had a sickly gray tint, and his eyes were dull with grief.

“I know. It isn’t far now,” I said aloud to the boy.

We crawled on for several more minutes, but at last, the tunnel opened up, letting us stand. I stretched, relieved to be out of the crawlspace. Sétanta swayed. He hadn’t eaten or drunk in hours and looked ready to collapse. I bent and lifted him. He was lighter than I expected, and asleep in my arms almost immediately.

HE WILL PERISH SOON AND TURN. YOU MUST EITHER END HIM OR USE OUR BOONS TO HEAL HIM. DAWNPIERCER CAN BURN HIS AFFLICTION AWAY.

End him? I froze. That wasn’t an option. He was just a child.

I hadn’t yet examined my new abilities yet. We resumed walking and I focused on those specifics from my last power rank notification:

Dawnpiercer

Burns away illusions, shadows, and afflictions, revealing truth and exposing deception.

Blazing Mantle

A radiant aura of sunlight envelops the bearer in battle, blinding nearby enemies and granting resistance to effects that would blind or obscure vision.

Burning Pulse

Unleashes a pulse of searing light, damaging creatures vulnerable to fire or radiant energy and repelling entities born of shadow, corruption, or darkness.

Radiant Surge

Become a streak of divine light, instantly traversing short distances through natural illumination. Ignore terrain and gain brief invulnerability during transit.

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Guilt-Sight

Perceive the residue of guilt and regret on others as phantom impressions clinging to their form.

Penitent Brand

A radiant seal that exposes lies and hidden crimes.

Now that I looked closer, I could tell which boons were from Belenus’s Light domain and which came from my new Judgment domain. Penitent Brand seemed to blend the two. Maybe it was tied to my Scion of Justice classification.

WHEN OUR BODIES MERGED, I LOST MANY BOONS. BUT YOU HAVE BEEN GIVEN LIGHT BOONS THAT I DID NOT POSSESS.

I focused on Dawnpiercer. On the surface, it looked like it would do exactly what Belenus claimed. What I didn’t know was how much pain it might cause Sétanta. I thought back to how quickly Deichtine had transformed and realized I had no choice. I wouldn’t let that happen to him.

I set the sleeping boy gently on the stone floor and covered his eyes. Focusing, I felt a burning heat transfer from me to him. He stirred but didn’t wake. Pinpoints of light glimmered from his wounds as if radiating from within. I could see the outlines of his organs glowing beneath his skin. And then, the light faded. His skin was no longer ashen, but ruddy with health. He slept on.

For hours, we twisted through the dark halls of Cruachan. I carried Sétanta, slowing whenever I could to keep him from waking. Belenus stayed silent. Eventually, we came to an exit mostly clear of debris. He had kept his word. We were free!

It was still light when I pushed aside a rock at our exit. I heard a whinny from somewhere nearby and looked up to see Gaoth circling a large, familiar man on an even more familiar horse. Diarmuid sat astride Móralltach, of all creatures.

I recognized him then for who he truly was. He rode the mount of his father, Aengus Og. That’s why he had called me cousin. That’s why he had let me leave his camp, unscathed.

Around Diarmuid stood at least a hundred fianna soldiers, some mounted, some on foot. I was too exhausted to be impressed. I simply whistled for Gaoth.

When they saw me, Móralltach and Gaoth approached, parting the gathered men. To my dismay, Gaoth kept his distance. Diarmuid dismounted and came forward. Sétanta stirred and woke as I handed him off.

“It was the Bánánach,” the boy whimpered, lips trembling. He buried his face in Diarmuid’s tunic, his body wracked with sobs.

“The rest?” the leader asked me.

I shook my head. Diarmuid closed his eyes, letting emotion claim him for just a moment. When he opened them, he extended a hand to me. I took it, and we stood like that for several long moments. I saw gratitude in his eyes and knew that he saw sorrow in mine. Diarmuid nodded solemnly.

“I thank you, Tadg mac Nuada. You’ve proven we can be better than our fathers.” He looked back at his fianna. “We owe you a debt, cousin. Call on me, for any reason, and we will come."

He released my hand and took the boy to a group of waiting women. My gaze found Gaoth behind Móralltach. Both beasts looked uneasy, shaking their heads and keeping their distance.

“Come on, friend,” I pleaded softly. “I need you to take me home.” Móralltach turned and vanished into the crowd. Gaoth backed up, rearing. That nearly broke me. Gaoth had been my most loyal companion. Through years of battle, he had been the one creature I could always count on. I was his chosen. The only one he loved and trusted enough to ride upon him.

It was Belenus, I realized. Gaoth was afraid of him.

COME, TADG. YOU NO LONGER NEED HIM.

I knew what he meant. I could now travel upon the light itself using Radiant Surge. But Gaoth wasn’t only a horse or a way to get from here to there. He was my loyal companion. With all my newfound power, I felt only sorrow. I sighed. Times were changing. And it seemed I was changing most of all.

“I understand,” I told my oldest friend, my voice soft. “I know I am different now, and for that, I’m sorry.” A sudden thought struck me.

“Go. Find Bren. He’ll need your help before long.”

Gaoth whinnied before turning on his hooves to gallop west. As he disappeared into the crowd, I whispered, “And he will take care of you.”

I wiped my eyes and turned back to the fianna, where I found several of the soldiers staring at me. I must have been a sight...dirty, bloodied, bruised, and broken. Emotional. Resigned. Some may have even enjoyed seeing the son of King Nuada brought low.

But then again, their faces looked… surprised, maybe even fearful. Then I felt it, the feeling of the sun’s warmth on my skin. It filled me with power. In a flash, I vanished. Belenus had activated Radiant Surge without my consent.

I felt myself flying across the land, streaking through light, crossing stretches of Mag Mell that even the fastest mount would have taken hours to cover. Five surges. Ten. Twenty.Ahead, I saw Falias’s beckoning towers. My home. Or at least, my current destination.

I recalled Bairic’s words as I left Brú na Dallta. “War changes a man. Be sure it changes you for the better.”

I didn’t know Belenus’s true goal, or what awaited me in Falias. Would my father declare war on me too, as he had against the fae and the Fomorians? Would it all end in blood?

Only one thing was clear to me as I flew toward the city gates, just as the last rays of sunlight vanished behind the towers. War HAD changed me, for good AND for ill. I realized it likely never changed a man any other way.

As I landed at the gate, the sentries stared at me in shock. Recognition dawned in their eyes. Despite the dirt and blood of Cruachan, I stood tall, a lord of Falias once more.

NOW IS WHERE THE FUN BEGINS.