Solstice, Book 1: A Prince, A Thief, Etcetera

Chapter 5: Tir na Nog

It was a good thing that Father Thomas and Sister Rose had gotten all the residents accustomed to waking up at the crack of dawn every morning at St. Ambrose's. Otherwise, Levi probably would have slept through the magnificent sunrise as it crested over a line of purple mountains in the distance and bathed the sprawling kingdom of Tir na Nog in a swath of golden light.

He was standing on the poop deck by the captain's wheel with Lindel and Ferrus, gazing out at the capital city of Tir na Nog known as Caerulir, according to Lindel, and wearing the garments Lindel had laid out for him (along with a rather tasty breakfast of cold milk and hot cinnamon rolls) well before the crack of dawn. Levi had been silently thankful that Todd had possessed the wisdom to stay hidden in the wardrobe all night and left him half the breakfast before departing the room.

Now sporting a midnight blue doublet made of padded silk, dark trousers, and soft leather shoes, he felt like he'd just been transported back to the fifteenth century; judging by look of his new surroundings, he might very well have been. Lindel and Ferrus were dressed in styles similar to his, having discarded their modern, human clothes from the night before, and Ferrus had even added a chest piece of shiny steel plate and a matching pair of gauntlets. Levi had to concede that he cut a very impressive figure standing there like a warrior carved from stone, sunlight glinting off his armor and the huge broadsword sheathed at his hip. He could have told Levi he was off to slay a dragon later, and Levi would have had no problem believing him. And the city across the harbor where their ship was currently docked was like something out of a fairy tale. A brilliantly bizarre and heart-stoppingly beautiful fairy tale.

A shimmering mist lay like a blanket over an ancient forest lining the coast, and Caerulir itself looked as much a part of the forest as a city. From Levi's vantage point, he could see that no tree had been cut and no hill leveled for building. Every shop, inn, tavern, and dwelling blended seamlessly with the natural landscape of the coastal wood. Several times he mistook a building for just another tree and only realized his mistake on second glance when he spotted a door or a window mounted into the trunk, or a set of stairs spiraling up through the branches, or a coil of smoke issuing from a leafy chimney. It seemed likely they had been just trees before they were homes and businesses as well. And there were just as many newly erected structures of wood and stone, some with thatched roofs, others tiled, but most were so overgrown with vines and brambles they were almost indistinguishable from the surrounding trees anyway. Here and there, sleepy looking figures piddled about between them--elves, Levi realized. Just like Lindel and Ferrus. A whole city of them. A whole country.

Off in the distance, perched high on a hill and overlooking everything, was a castle. An immense, stone castle with the forest encroaching on its very walls. A cluster of evergreen spires and crenellations surrounded one central tower, rising higher than all the others to pierce the clear morning sky, like the tallest prong of an emerald crown.

A voice broke the stillness, coming from somewhere around Levi's knees. "Well dears, are we just going to stand here and admire Caerulir from the harbor all day, or do you intend for the young majesty to actually experience it up close?" Lynx twisted her slender body between their legs before hopping up lightly to rest draped across Lindel's shoulders like a lady's shawl.

Lindel looked at her aghast. "Lynx! What did you call him? How could you just--I told you we were going to wait until he's ready to tell him!"

Lynx smiled in that eerie way of hers which Levi was sure no normal cat would be able to do. "Oh come now, dearie, I think the boy's made of tougher stuff than you give him credit for. I told him everything last night, and look at him. Every bit as sane and functional as he was then."