Eventually they became aware of a faint sound of wind echoing up the stairs around
them.
―What‘s that?‖ Faraday whispered, and felt Timozel touch her shoulder reassuringly.
―It is the sound of the Star Gate,‖ Yr replied. Her voice was stiff with barely suppressed
excitement, and Faraday looked at Timozel, intrigued.
The sound grew louder as they got closer and a faint blue light began to augment that of
their lamps. Finally the light was strong enough for Jack to ask Yr to douse her lamp, and after a
moment‘s hesitation Timozel did the same. Yr was almost pushing Jack‘s back in her eagerness
to get to the bottom of the stairwell.
―Peace, Yr, we‘re almost there,‖ grumbled Jack though he was also keenly excited. He
had seen the Star Gate on three previous occasions, yet three hundred viewings would never be
enough for him.
As they rounded one more bend, the stairs abruptly ended in a long corridor that angled
towards an open archway in the distance. Blue light and sound pulsed at them from the far side
of the archway. Jack stopped them for a moment, although Yr looked so excited that for a
moment Faraday thought she might break and run down the corridor towards the strange blue
light. Her heart began to pound, and Timozel pulled her a little closer to his body, thinking she
needed reassurance.
―There is no danger as long as you do not step through the Star Gate,‖ Jack said, his eyes
keen as they searched those of Faraday and Timozel. ―But there are one or two things that I must
warn you of. Yr? Do you listen as well?‖ Yr nodded her head impatiently, her eyes on the distant
archway. Jack turned back to Faraday and Timozel. ―No human has been down here for almost a
thousand years, and in the time of the Icarii rule it was rare indeed that a human was allowed to
see the Star Gate. This is one of the most sacred Icarii sites in this land, so treat it with due
reverence. The Star Gate is very beautiful, and it will tempt you to step through. You can hear it
sing now. But if you do that you will never come back. Do you understand?‖ Both Faraday and
Timozel nodded.
―Well then, let us enter the Chamber of the Star Gate.‖
Timozel gripped Faraday‘s hand tightly as they followed Jack and Yr. He was a
Champion and he would lead great armies; there was no need to fear this blue light.
As soon as they stepped through the archway into the Chamber of the Star Gate, their
ears were buffeted by the sound of a gale, although not a breath of wind touched their faces.
Faraday‘s first impression, after she had adjusted to the sound, was that the chamber was
a smaller, if more exquisite, version of the Chamber of the Moons in the palace of Carlon. It was
perfectly circular and surrounded by pillars and archways. Each of the pillars was carved from
translucent white stone in the shape of a naked, winged man. Most of the men stood with their
heads bowed and arms folded across their chests, wings lifted and outstretched so as to touch those of the men next to them, their touching wingtips forming the apex of the archways.
Faraday noticed that an entire section of pillars across the far side of the chamber were different.
These winged men had their heads up and their eyes wide open, golden orbs staring towards the
centre of the chamber, their arms uplifted in joy with their wings. She did not have to count to
know that there were twenty-six.
―Faraday,‖ Timozel whispered, and when she turned to look at him he pointed towards
the vaulted ceiling of the chamber. Blue shadows leaped and chased each other across the white
stone vault. Like demons, Timozel thought.
―Oh!‖ Faraday gasped, ―it‘s beautiful!‖
―It is not there you should be looking, lovely lady, but beneath the shadows,‖ said Jack,
standing in the middle of the archway they had come through, his extended arm indicating what
looked like the low rim of a large circular pool which occupied the centre space of the floor.
Faraday walked towards the pool, dragging a reluctant Timozel with her. She was almost
breathless with excitement. A few paces from the pool Timozel baulked; he would go no further.
Faraday let Timozel‘s hand go and walked to the rim, it was about knee height and wide enough
to sit on comfortably. Without hesitation or a backward glance, Faraday sat down. Deep blue
light pulsed across her face and reflected far above on the stone vault.
Faraday‘s lips parted and her eyes widened. For a few moments she forgot to breathe. Yr
and Jack joined her at the rim, and for long minutes all three stared transfixed into the Star Gate.
The circular pool contained no water; instead, to all intents and purposes, it contained the
universe. The real one, not the faint shadow that lights the night sky. Stars reeled and danced,
suns chased each other across galaxies, moons dipped and swayed through planetary systems,
luminous comets threaded their mysterious paths through the cosmos. The sound of vast
interstellar winds roared out into the chamber and a luminous deep blue light pulsed through the
Star Gate. Its depths stretched into infinity.
Faraday opened her mouth to say something to Jack, sitting next to her, but there were no
words to describe what she saw. She started to cry through sheer wonder at the incredible beauty
and majesty of the Star Gate. No wonder the Icarii worshipped here and, when they could not be
here, worshipped the Star Gate‘s reflection in the night sky. Artor paled into utter insignificance
for Faraday as she battled to come to terms with what she saw. Nothing she had been taught
about Artor and the Way of the Plough could compare with this. She envied with every fibre of
her being the Enchanter-Talons who had stepped through this Gate. What incredible joy they
must have felt as they slid over the rim of the pool and into infinity! Perhaps even now they
joined the stars themselves as they danced through the universe. ―Ah,‖ she moaned, longing to
join them, wondering if she would be good enough for the Gate to accept her. Her hands
stretched towards the Star Gate.
Jack‘s arm slid about her shoulders. ―No, sweet one. No, do not be tempted. It is not for
you or I to step through this Gate. Only an Icarii Enchanter powerful beyond telling could ever
hope to survive.‖
Faraday dragged her eyes away from the Star Gate and looked at Jack. His cheeks
showed the trail of tears as well. ―So, it is not only the dead Enchanter-Talons who go through?‖
Jack thought carefully before he replied. ―No. It is said that one day the Icarii will breed
an Enchanter powerful enough to journey through the Gate and manage to come back out again.
I do not know what he would find there.‖
Or what he did find there, he thought. His eyes slipped momentarily to the line of
twenty-six statues whose arms were uplifted in joy.
Faraday‘s eyes had drifted back to the Star Gate and she did not notice Jack‘s glance. ―I
do not know why he would ever want to come back out again,‖ she whispered.
―It is good that you have seen this,‖ Jack said quietly. ―It will help you through the next
years of your life. Remember it always.‖
―Always,‖ Faraday echoed fiercely, and then Jack was pulling her back from the brink
and handing her to Timozel who still refused to look into the Gate. ―Keep her back, now, lad,‖
Jack said, and Timozel nodded, annoyed at being called lad, but pleased that Jack had entrusted
Faraday to his care.
Jack returned to the stone rim surrounding the Star Gate and spoke quietly to Yr, who
still sat enraptured by the Gate. After a moment she reluctantly inclined her head and stood up,
following Jack back to where Timozel and Faraday waited.
―Do each of these archways lead to a Barrow?‖ Timozel asked as Jack drew level with
him. ―There are more archways than Barrows.‖
―Only some of them lead to the Barrows. Others lead…elsewhere. The Icarii needed
access to the Star Gate through doorways other than those of the Barrows of the
Enchanter-Talons. And then there are others who ply their way to and from the Star Gate and use
corridors still stranger than those the Icarii used. Come, make sure Faraday follows, and I will
lead us out through another passage.‖
Jack took Yr‘s hand and led them towards one of the arches surrounded by sleeping
winged men. As they passed under, Faraday roused, turning for one last look at the Chamber of
the Star Gate.
―Why did they put wings on these men, Jack? Is it meant to symbolise their status as