Chapter Three: Peorth



Time was nonexistent in this world. Sirius walked for what felt like days on end, but he never knew exactly how long.

His eyes became accustomed to the darkness. It was an odd place to be sure; he could see himself, but other than his own body, all else was black and dark.

He’d seen the light replay memories for him; he’d seen the exit, but was it really the exit? He couldn’t be sure. The only thing he was sure of was that he was stuck.

He walked almost all the time, never growing tired. He never seemed to make progress and pretty soon he was talking to himself.

“Does that darkness look familiar? I think I’ve already passed that patch of bleak, never ending darkness before… I must be going in circles…”

The empty void Sirius seemed to be stuck in always managed to suck up his voice. His voice never echoed no matter how loud he spoke and it always sounded so dulcet and muffled. He was bored and his voice was only making his boredom worse.

On one particular occasion, while strolling through the dark, Sirius had finally reached his breaking point. Letting out a non-echoing scream, and falling to the floor and pounding his fists, didn’t accomplish much of anything, other than perhaps sore hands. He sat back, panting and staring wildly around, almost begging for some sign of… anything.

He fell backwards; exhaustion was beginning to sink in. How long had he been here? He should have worn a watch. Why was he so stupid?!? He hit his head hard, which seemed to accomplish a lot more than hitting the dark spans of nothingness, because suddenly a very soft, echoing sound reached his ears.

He shot up and looked around.

There was nothing. Nothing at all, but he could hear… a song? What was it? It was beautiful and bright; its sound was so heavenly, but where was it coming from? Perhaps the darkness was a soprano. Getting to his feet, Sirius began searching for the source, unsure of exactly what he was looking for?

“Where is it?” Sirius asked himself after a very long search in vain. He’d been walking and walking and still nothing. He turned around, intending to retrace his steps, when he collided with a very large, overgrown, and apparently dead, tree.

“Ouch,” he said, rubbing his forehead. “What the heck is this doing here?” He looked up at the tree. It was rather remarkable, considering its dilapidated state. It was certainly in need of a good watering and a lot of sunlight. “Must be hard to find sunlight in a place as dark as this,” he muttered. That still didn’t explain his ability to see the tree, why it was there or for that matter, where there was, but at least this was something.

He stood up and walked around the base of the tree, climbing over large, overgrown roots that poked through the dark ground. The tree was indeed very large. Sirius wasn’t sure how large, but he certainly couldn’t put his arms around it and touch his hands.

Curiosity peaking, Sirius placed a hand against the trees bark. A shock went through his body. The tree was warm; the tree felt so alive, despite its appearance. It was sending waves and waves of energy through him and suddenly, he could hear the song from before pounding in his ears, louder and clearer than anything he’d ever heard in his life.

Sirius closed his eyes, ecstasy flowing in his very veins. He wanted to stay here forever, but good things never lasted. The tree gave an almighty jolt and he was thrown back.

Pain coursed through his body, as he lay there in semi-consciousness. Part of the pain was due to the rather hard landing, and the rest was due to the sudden lack of warmth and energy the tree had given him. He sat up, almost expecting the tree to be gone, but it was still there.

He got to his feet, walking cautiously forward. The tree seemed to be singing still. Soft cracking sounds split the silence and disturb the song. Sirius stepped closer and as he did an illuminating and blindingly bright light poured from the tree, stopping him in his tracks and causing him to throw his arms over his eyes.

The song was once again within him, filling him with that pleasurable happiness and energy. He just wanted to go back to the tree, but he couldn’t move. Then a voice reached his ears, so inhuman and beautiful it made him want to cry.

“Who dares touch the Tree of Life?” the voice asked. Sirius tried to look to see who was speaking, but he could not see.

“H-hello,” he called. “Who are you?” He wasn’t sure why, but he had an inclining that asking the voice questions would actually prove productive.

“I asked you a question, you will not ask until you have answered; who are you?”

“S-Sirius Black.”

There was a pause in which the song penetrated thought, but finally the voice spoke. “Sirius Black?” it questioned. “You are of the pure-blood wizarding family, the ancient house… what are you doing here?”

“Funny thing, really. I don’t know. Do you think you could tell me exactly where here is?”

The voice seemed to be considering his question. The longer he waited for a response the more sure he became that the voice had left, but when he lowered his hands, the light was still there, though he could make out a faint blur from within the tree, something like silvery-white hair, flowing in a non-existent wind.

“Who are you?” he asked again.

“I? I am not. I have no form. I exist throughout for I am vast as the darkness you see stretched out before you. Mortals, both non-magical and magical alike, have given me names, many names which all mean the same thing. I am known as Destiny to some; still others prefer to call me Fate… Serendipity… Peorth…”

Sirius listened intently, but the words this heavenly voice spoke made no sense. Fate? Destiny? How could this be? “Y-you mean to tell me you’re—I don’t believe it,” he breathed.

“Believe what you like, Sirius Black, for I am what I say I am. I do not lie for that is not what my purpose is; I am no deceiver of mortals. I am merely a guide; a creator; a divine body within the Universe to help maintain a semblance of balance. I do not interfere unless absolutely necessary on my part.”

“Okay, that’s absolutely spiffing and all, but where exactly am I?”

“You have entered the Plain of Passing. It is not clear yet to me as to how you came to be here; you should have passed on already…”

“Pa-passed on? You mean I’m dead?”

“Certainly, how else could you manage to be here?” the voice asked. “I have been sleeping here, as I always do, no mortal has ever penetrated this world; no mortal has ever found this tree or stumbled upon me; I sleep for as long as I can till the next mistake wrought of human idiocy needs to be repaired.”

“W-what do you mean? Mistakes wrought of—what a load of rot! I don’t understand you, but I certainly am not—“

“DO NOT DISRESPECT ME, SIRIUS BLACK!!!” An almighty wind forced Sirius to fly back a few feet, before falling to the ground. The Tree of Life grew larger and looked suddenly threatening; the light emanating from its center was shooting sparks; the voice was no longer heavenly and peaceful, but angry and violent. “I have existed for eons; I have been here since mankind became too greedy and envious, too prideful. I used to exist amongst the living; I used to have form. But mankind is a fickle friend and they began to ask favours of me that I could do nothing about.

“An uprising against me, mankind sought to destroy me; they were fools. I cannot be killed. I exist throughout. Human form was only temporary. The mortals that sought to kill me were punished. Magic was ripped from their bodies—thus the non-magical folk, muggles I believe you call them, were born. I left my physical, worldly form and returned to the place of my birth; the Tree of Life, hidden here in the Plain of Passing, where no mortal could find it, was to be my home.

“All who pass through here are dying or dead; they do not stay here for more than a few seconds worldly time. It may seem longer to them, but time is irrelevant here. They move on and thus continue their journeys. You however, Sirius Black, are still here and this is a predicament. You are no divine entity; you will destroy the balance in the world of the living and the passing. You have already been here far too long…”

Peorth, as this voice called itself, fell silent. Apparently, Peorth was thinking. A sound much like a warbling note came from within the tree, almost as though it were sighing.

“Sirius Black, when you were killed, your body fell through an archway. That archway is the only door to the Plain of Passing. I created it long ago, so I could travel as I pleased from this plain to yours. When your body fell through, your soul reattached itself to your physical form, thus you are in a stasis. You cannot move forward or backward; you are not living or dead; you are trapped within this world, unless I do something about it.”

“Y—you mean you can… bring me back, you can make me live again?” Sirius was hopeful, but a part of him knew that his hopes were unfounded.

“I have not the power to do such a thing as bring back those who are dead. That power does not exist. The only power that does exist, is to give you temporary leave of this place, to the world of the living where you may fulfill your purpose, so that you may move on to the next step.”

“You mean—I really am dead?” Sirius’ stomach was in knots. It just couldn’t be; he couldn’t be dead, he needed to see Harry, he needed to help him. The war was brewing and he needed to be able to fight!

“Something troubles you, Sirius Black. I can see it clearly. Remove your arm from over your eyes so I may look into your soul and know.”

Sirius did as he was told, but it was difficult to keep his eyes open. But suddenly he felt something travel through his eyes, forcing them to stay open in wide surprise. He could almost feel Peorth within him, then the being was once again without and he was on the floor panting.

He looked up and could see clearly the light, no longer needing to shield his eyes.

“Sirius Black, there seems to be a reason you are here. Lord Voldemort has risen again and I fear the worst is yet to come. Harry Potter will need your help before the war is done. It is time for me to play my hand in the lives of the living once again it seems, lest Lord Voldemort throw the world into chaos.

“I do not know why I did not awaken before, but I fear the Dark Lord has done something to maintain his secrecy. He would not want me to play my hand. I am grateful for your interference, had you not arrived here, I am sure the Dark Lord would have been more than successful.

“Do you wish to help, Sirius Black?”

“I do.”

“Then I will build you an army of those who have died. You and your army will leave this plain and enter the world of the living one last time once the battle has commenced. You will be unstoppable. The Dark Lord will fall and once he has, you will have only a short amount of time to find your godson and speak with him before you pass on completely.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I mean, your soul will forever leave your body once your task is complete. You will tell Harry all that you wish, but you must be discrete. Telling him too much of this plain is dangerous. Mortals are not meant to understand death and life; the mystery of it is what keeps those such as Voldemort from taking power.”

“But, Voldemort—you think he knows of you…”

“Certainly he does. How else would I not know of his return to power; I should have been awoken the second he returned. I knew it was only a matter of time. Harry Potter was one interference on my part, but I knew that the Dark Lord would rise again and when he did, I would play my hand one last time to aid Harry Potter in his quest to destroy the Dark Lord and his immortality. You however, Sirius Black, will do more than simply fight. There is a way for you to visit Harry without leaving this plain. It will take me some time, though I feel that won’t matter to you as time is naught here.”

Sirius was positive that if Peorth had form, it would be smiling. He was also positive that it would be a woman standing before him, but that might have been hopeful thinking.

“Sirius Black, you are now a warrior of the Dead Army of Peorth; you will lead them with ancient magicks; you will not need a wand or a weapon for you will use the magicks of old, those that run through the Earth and the Universe. But before you can wield such power, I must bind you.”

“Bind me? I don’t think I like the sound of that.”

“It is merely a precaution. Sometimes, those who are returned for a day wish to defy my orders. It is simply assurance that you will return to the Plain of Passing and then pass on… it also makes it possible for you to wield the powers I speak of. Now, close your eyes.”

Though rather nervous about this bind, Sirius did not think it was wise to disobey and thus closed his eyes. Once he had, he felt the warmth return to him; his body was floating, moving towards the Tree of Life. He was sure he felt hands on his body; Peorth was warm and gentle, the song was loud once again, almost deafeningly so. Then he was consumed by it; he was within the tree to be sure. He wanted to open his eyes, but the blinding light was back and so bright was it that he could see its white glow even with his eyes scrunched up as they were.

Sirius suddenly knew more than he had ever known. He could almost see into the future with this knowledge and the song from before now had words and he suddenly realized that it was a spell being recited; Peorth was invoking the bind.

“Peorth gyfu, Imbolic, ken lagu is, Samhain, sigel tyr rad… Imbolic, eoh ing, Imbolic, ing eoh, birca, Lughnasadh, birca ing eoh, Samhain... Beltane, man wyn, Samhain, wyn man, Imbolic… Samhain, thorn ur, Samhain, haegl eolh eh, Samhain…”

Sirius did not need to speak this odd language to know what was being spoken. He could feel what those strange words meant as the magicks being invoked by Peorth coursed through his being. He felt alive again! And so strong! Magicks of old were weaving in and out of his soul, his heart, his body; his heart was beating rapidly against his ribcage, his breathing was labored, and oh, how good it felt!

His eyes shot open and he saw, for the first time, the form of Peorth. Indeed, a woman was speaking, the words being repeated over and over, louder and louder. This woman, however, was not like any woman Sirius had ever laid eyes on. She was so beautiful and so powerful. His eyes were filling with tears. Her silvery-white hair was billowing in the non-existent wind, her pale skin was giving off light like the moon, and her big beautiful eyes reminded him of the clearest, most blue waters. But how could he see her…

The spell was still being recited otherwise, he might have asked her. He could tell that she was almost done speaking, the sound was soft again, and he was fading from consciousness.

“…Samhain, thorn ur, Samhain, haegl eolh eh, Samhain…”

And Sirius blacked out as a power like nothing before surged through him.