Aine's Sunshine

Colvin awoke with a sharp jolt. He found himself in complete darkness, unsure if he’d gone blind. He blinked rapidly and his eyes slowly adjusted, though the darkness was still all-consuming. Relieved that he hadn’t been blinded, at least not completely, he began assessing the rest of his body for potential injuries. He wiggled his toes, his legs and his arms, nothing seemed amiss. Colvin breathed a heavy sigh of relief, though it was short lived as his predicament dawned on him. Colvin couldn’t remember how he got here, the last thing he remembered was getting into an argument with his father Torin over his lacklustre warding this solstice.

The community Colvin was raised in were particularly devout in their ways, and children were taught from an early age how to ward against evil spirits. Each summer solstice the village would paint afresh the wards in their homes, to ensure protection for their families. Colvin had been particularly hasty this year with his wards, as he’d been heavily distracted by other duties; namely a rather enchanting woman named Maeve.

Colvin was an acquired taste when it came to looks. He had long dark hair down to his waist, and a beard that matched. He stood tall at 6’7, though he often walked with a stoop. Despite his gangly visage, Maeve had taken an immediate interest in him. Maeve was a travelling bard, who visited villages in the solstice and encouraged people to dance and enjoy the revelry. Her curly red hair and more than ample figure drew Colvin in immediately. The moment Maeve stepped foot in the village and began singing, Colvin could think of nothing else but to simply be in her presence. Colvin’s father Torin was out working the fields and had left the warding to Colvin. He’d done it before and was generally very meticulous.

Colvin had hastily done his painting and rushed over to the square where Maeve was performing. She called to him and danced a circle around him. He was completely hypnotised by her movements, and lost himself in the merriment.

As the night drew on, and the folks became more intoxicated and raucous, a storm was brewing over the town. The townsfolk paid it no mind and continued singing and dancing together. Another performer had taken Maeve’s place, and she had requested a private moment with Colvin. Being completely enamoured by this outrageously beautiful woman who had somehow taken an interest in him, Colvin would’ve done absolutely anything she asked. Maeve told Colvin she was tired and needed a soft bed to rest in; Colvin immediately offered his own, and the pair walked together to Colvin’s home.

As Maeve lay down in Colvin’s bed, the storm outside came to a head with bright flash of lightning, following by a boom of thunder. Colvin could hear townsfolk outside screaming, but in his lusty daze simply ignored it; too focused on the woman in his bed.

Maeve smiled cheekily and began laughing. Colvin couldn’t comprehend what was going on, he had no idea a fire had broken out in the village and was devouring homes rapidly. The front door to Colvin’s home slammed open, and a drenched Torin ran in. Torin screamed at Maeve to get out, and grabbed Colvin by his shirt collar.

“Do you know what you have done boy?!” Torin roared, Colvin had never seen him so furious.

From the corner of his eye, Torin saw Maeve rapidly get off the bed and from then, everything went black.

- - -

Satisfied that his body was intact, Colvin stood and began reaching his arms out to feel the cold, stony walls of the cave. He discovered he was in a sort of murky corridor, and that he’d have to choose which way to proceed. He halted his breath momentarily to observe what little noise could be heard around him. The slow dripping of water, and a distant hum that unsettled Colvin to his core. The hum seemed to be coming from every direction, from beneath and above. So he picked a direction and began walking.

It occurred to Colvin that his father would be worried about him. Ever since his mother had passed, Colvin and Torin had grown close and relied on one another. Colvin had no idea what time of day it was but was sure his absence would’ve been noticed by now.

Growing weary of walking blindly through the cave, using his hands as a guide along the craggy walls, Colvin stopped and allowed himself a moment to recalibrate. It felt like he had been walking for hours, though perhaps it was only minutes; he had no way of knowing. During his respite, Colvin noticed a subtle light ahead of him. It looked to be coming from a diverging pathway to the one he was on, sunlight perhaps?

Colvin rallied himself and marched onwards toward the light. Though dim, the light had given Colvin a sense of purpose. He firmly believed it was sunlight leaking in through an exit from the cave. He reached the point in the path where the light appeared to be coming from and discovered he was right, the path did diverge – in 4 different directions, two of which seemed to have light coming from them. Colvin easily disregarded the dark paths; he wouldn’t have even known they were there had the light not slightly illuminated his way. Now it was just a choice between the two light-bearing routes. Perhaps it was a trick of his eye, or the shadows, but the right path seemed slightly brighter in Colvin’s estimation. He breathed deeply and began down the right pathway, still largely using his hands to guide him along the wall.

The closer Colvin got to the light source, the less certain he was that it was sunlight. It lacked the yellowish warmth of sunlight, and was instead a very cold, blue-hued light. Colvin remembered reading stories as a child of Mider, God of the Underworld, and how he emanated a cold blue aura. Colvin shivered at the thought and began speaking quietly to himself to alleviate some of his fear. He went through his list of tasks he’d need to get done once he got home.

“Sweep the path, feed the hens, tend the garden” and so on.

He found comfort in the sound of his own voice but remained quiet so as not to awaken any unseen horrors within the cave. Once he’d run out of tasks, he began speaking a prayer to Aeracura, The Earth Mother Goddess. In doing so he began to reflect on how he ended up here. He recalled the previous evening, Mauve and her seductive ways, Torin’s fury, the storm. He also recalled how hastily he’d done the warding on his home. It dawned on him that he’d wrought this unpleasant situation upon himself. Before he had much time to ponder this realisation, he noticed the light source had split into two, brighter now. He rubbed his eyes, unsure if he could trust them totally. After a brief pause, he continued onwards, silent now.

The low hum that had unsettled Colvin earlier had grown louder, though he was still unable to discern its source. The closer Colvin got to the two now beaming light sources, the more intense the hum got.

His plan to remain quiet in order to avoid awakening whatever resided in the cave was deemed a failure when the two lights suddenly shifted, rising high above Colvin and revealing themselves to be the eyes of a vast, skeletal creature. Colvin tripped backwards in surprise, feeling himself succumb to the grip of terror. The creature was colossal, and from deep in its belly came a gut-wrenching roar that Colvin would not soon forget. He lay frozen on the ground for a moment, as the creature reached out a long, clawed arm. It had almost touched him when he came to his senses, jumped up and bolted back the way he came. He ran as fast as he possibly could, tripping occasionally on the uneven, rocky surface of the cave. He could feel the earth shake as the creature shifted to follow him. He could hear its joints creaking as it crawled along, roaring at the same time.

Colvin had no idea how to lose the creature, he certainly couldn’t fight it as he had no weapon. That and it didn’t seem like the type of creature that would simply die. He kept running until he reached the 5 intersecting paths from before. At this point he could return to where he started or follow a different path to hopefully escape the beast. He paused to consider for only a brief moment before the roaring of the creature pushed him to a decision. He ran down one of the previously ignored darkened paths. This choice, he knew, was dangerous as there was no light source. But his hope was that the path would narrow at some point so he could get through, but the creature would be trapped. His wish was soon granted, though not as comfortably as he had hoped. The path dropped low, Colvin had to crawl on his belly through the damp, musty crag. He scrambled rapidly into the crevice and felt the creature’s claws rake his ankles. He shouted in pain but continued forward into the miniscule space. 

The creature let out furious roars and bashed against the rock for some time before giving up and returning to its lair. Colvin continued through the tiny path and eventually found it widening out again. He was able to crawl on all fours, and finally walk upright. He was astonished that he had fit through the path at all, being as tall as he was. He whispered thanks to his parents for gifting him a slim physique. 

Once certain the creature wasn’t following him, Colvin sat down and tried to get his heart to slow down. It was pounding so hard in his chest he feared it might cease functioning. Never before had he experienced such pure terror. He reached out to feel the wounds on his ankles, they weren’t as bad as he thought. He tore off two pieces of his muslin shirt and wrapped them around his legs, to at least stop the bleeding. Though they weren’t deep, they stung as though filled with poison. Colvin paused to consider if poison might be a genuine concern but decided not to worry on it too much as there was hardly anything he could do about it.

Colvin sat for a moment, trying to shake off the panic he’d felt moments earlier. He felt he so easily could’ve yielded to the cave and allowed himself to die. But something was stopping him, a drive within him to return to his father, to his people. Colvin swore to himself as he stood up, the movement causing his legs to sting anew. Obviously, he had no desire to return to where that monster was, so he continued forward, once again relying on touch to guide him.

His eyes slowly adjusted, and he could just about see the path ahead. He could make out another fork in the path and shuddered to think what could be down either route. As he approached the junction, he could hear the soft sound of music from the right path.

“Maeve?” he whispered into the air.

Just as he began to follow the right path, he heard a distant yell from the left path.

“Father?” he whispered again.

He turned back and looked down the left path, he could’ve sworn he heard Torin yell his name. He stood there longer, waiting to hear the yelling again. The music didn’t stop, in fact it seemed to be getting louder. Another yell from the left.

Colvin was certain now that he was hearing his father. As delightful as the music sounded, he just wanted to be home. He walked down the left path, a new confidence in his step. He called back to his father.

“Father! It’s me! Colvin! I’m here!”

He paused, listening for a response.

“This way my boy!”

Colvin jolted into action and began walking briskly towards his father, perhaps finally he would be free of this nightmarish labyrinth. A light appeared as he walked, warm this time. Sunlight. Colvin spoke out loud a prayer to Aine, Goddess of the Sun. He so desperately wanted to be embraced by her restorative light.

“Colvin!” Torin yelled again, this time far closer.

Colvin began sprinting as hard as he could, this time towards the sunshine instead of away from a monster. He cursed Maeve, he cursed himself for rushing his warding. He knew better now. His time in this hideous cave had convinced him that Maeve was the embodied form of an evil spirit, who had sent him to the underworld for his foolishness. But it didn’t matter now. He could sense freedom.

After what seemed like an endless sprint, Colvin stepped out into the sunshine.