by John Lenahan
‘What does this have to do with her?’ I said, pointing my fork at Nieve.
It was Nieve’s turn to speak. Her voice was soft. It surprised me. I had never heard it without venom. ‘I am an old woman and thought myself wiser than I really was. I was set in my ways. When your mother learned forbidden lore and produced the son of the one-handed prince–I thought it was my duty to stop her. I now see it was wrong to blame Shadowmagic for the Fili war–it was Maeve who was to blame.’
I looked over to Fand. She lowered her eyes.
‘What about the son of the one-handed prince stuff?’ I said.
‘Ona’s divinations should not be ignored,’ Nieve replied, ‘but your mother has convinced me that there are other paths than the one I have been travelling.’
‘You mean the kill Conor path?’ I said.
‘Yes,’ she said, and sounded sincere.
‘I was never a big fan of that road.’
Nieve smiled. ‘Nor was I, Conor. You will never know how much it pained me.’
‘So how come you are coming at me with a knife?’
She glanced down at her hand and looked surprised to see she was actually holding a knife. ‘Oh, I was just in the kitchen. I came in to see if I could slice some bread for anyone.’
Dad cracked up at this. ‘Are you going to lower your fork, son, or are you going to eat your aunt?’
I looked at the pathetic weapon in my hand and smiled. ‘So we start over?’
‘I would like that,’ Nieve said.
‘OK. Hi, I’m Conor–Oisin and Deirdre’s kid.’ I extended my hand.
‘I am very happy to meet you, Conor. I am Nieve, your father’s older sister and your aunt.’
She shook my hand and smiled. You know, when Nieve smiles she doesn’t look so scary at all. Saying that, I wasn’t ready to hug her.
‘Can I have my table legs back?’ came a quiet voice on the other side of the room. It was Fand.
‘Oh gods,’ Araf said, ‘I am sorry’ Araf lifted the table with one hand and tried to put the leg back–without much success.
‘Do not worry, Araf. The Druid Table has been broken before. In years to come I will point out the repairs and tell how the lord of the Imps tore off the leg to protect his friend.’
‘The Druid Table?’ I said.
‘Most of the Fili were killed in the war,’ Dad said. ‘The few survivors hid in this forest. The rest became mortals and travelled to the Real World. Irish history remembers them as the Druids.’
‘I remember you telling me about the Druids when I was young, you told me no one knew where they came from.’
‘I lied. I knew.’
‘You lied about a lot of things, didn’t you, Dad.’
‘I did, and I am sorry.’
‘So are you finally going to tell me the truth about how you lost your hand?’
‘Ah, that’s a great story!’ Fergal yelped. ‘You see, Oisin and Cialtie were having a…’
‘You know how my dad lost his hand?’
‘Of course, everybody knows that story.’
‘Why didn’t you tell me?’
‘You never asked. I can’t believe you haven’t heard it. You see, Oisin and Cialtie…’
Araf placed a hand on Fergal’s shoulder. ‘Perhaps Lord Oisin should tell his own tale.’
‘Oh yeah–sorry’
‘You two go for a walk,’ Mom said. ‘You have much to talk about and we have much to do here, if I am to cast Shadowrunes tonight.’
‘Come, son, and I will tell of things I have long wished I could tell.’
Dad and I walked outside in the dark shade of beautiful trees adorned with clusters of red berries.
‘What trees are these?’ I asked.
‘Rowan. The Fililands are the Rowanlands. Maeve used to hold the Luis Rune,’ Dad explained. ‘The berries are poisonous but the Fili manage to somehow make jam out of it. I think I saw you have some this morning.’
‘I did. It was nice.’
‘The Fili are a clever people; my father was wrong in punishing them all. My mother asked him to be lenient but he was so appalled by the war–he ruled with his heart and not with his head.’
‘Your mother?’ I said, suddenly wondering why I had never even thought to ask before.
Dad closed his eyes for a second.
An evil thought entered my mind. ‘Did Cialtie kill her too?’
‘No, after I was born she went over the water on a sorceress’ quest. She never returned. Finn had Ona perform a Runecasting to find her–but to no avail. She must have died.’
‘Who was she?’
‘My mother–your grandmother–was a sorceress. Her yew wand held the power of the horses. I never knew her. It was said that she raised the finest horses in The Land. Her name was Macha. There is a town in Ireland called Emain Macha.’
‘Emain means twin, doesn’t it?’
‘That’s right. Cullen–or should I say Cu-cullen–named it during one of his tall tale sessions, I believe. He was referring to Cialtie and me.’
‘You and Cialtie are twins? I thought he said he was your older brother.’
‘He is, but everyone called us twins because there is only a year between us. Immortals don’t have very many children–otherwise the place would be overrun. It is very rare for someone to have two children so close together. So we were called Emain Macha- Macha’s Twins.’
‘But Cialtie is the oldest and heir to the throne?’
‘Heirs are not decided by nepotism in The Land. Runelords are made at their Runechoosing.’
‘I keep hearing about this Runechoosing. What is it?’
‘When a young man or woman comes of age they prepare a small disc of oak and place it on a piece of gold. They then carry the oak and gold through the three antechambers of the Hall of Runes. At each doorway a muirbhrúcht is passed.’
‘Muirbhrúcht’. ‘I don’t know that word.’
‘It literally means tidal wave but most people who have performed the Choosing say it’s more like a riptide but in the air all around you. What it is, is incredibly difficult, both mentally and physically. A Chooser may give up after the first antechambers; after that stopping means death. The rune becomes hot in your hand after each muirbhrúcht. The gold melts into the oak. When, or if, you pass through the final barrier, you may turn over the piece of oak in your hand. Upon it, engraved in gold, will be a rune. Some runes are major runes–these are for Runelords. Others are minor runes–these are for heirs. Only after a Runelord has left or died may the holders of the minor runes retake their Choosing to see who is to be the Runelord.’
‘What rune do you hold?’
Dad held up his stump. ‘One cannot choose a rune without a runehand. I have never attempted the Choosing.’
‘Cialtie has, hasn’t he?’
‘Yes. Everyone expected him to choose one of the Duir Runes but he chose a Virgin Rune.’
‘A Virgin Rune?’
‘Yes, a Virgin Rune is one that has never been chosen before. It had been so long since a new rune appeared that most of us thought it was myth, but then it happened. Cialtie chose Getal–the Reed Rune. A week later, word arrived that the Reedlands had appeared east of the Hazellands. Then we knew that the legends of the Origins were true.’
‘Hold on,’ I said, ‘let me get this straight. Cialtie chose a new rune and poof, some land appeared out of nowhere?’
‘Out of the sea,’ Dad corrected. ‘The Land is an island.’
‘Right, so the Reedlands appeared out of the sea–and this never happened before?’
‘Not since the beginnings.’
‘And when was that?’
Dad smiled at me like I was a kid again. ‘That–was before time. Sit down, son, and I’ll tell you of our ancestors.’
We had walked to the edge of the forest–before us was Ona’s blackthorn wall. Beyond that was the blackened Hazellands. Dad placed his hand on a fallen rowan tree and asked its permission to use it. He sat on th
e tree and I sat cross-legged at his feet.
‘Ériu was the first, she is the mother of The Land and is considered a god among many–especially the Leprechauns. My father believed that she was his great-great-great-grandmother. When she came, The Land was a tiny island. Some think she found the oak trees here–others say she brought an acorn with her. Either way, she was the first lord of Duir. Together with the Leprechauns, she built the first House of Duir and excavated the mines.’
‘Where did the Leprechauns come from?’
‘Who knows? They believe that Ériu made them. That is why they are so loyal to the House of Duir. Anyway, Ériu was a great sorceress. Your mother believes she may have possessed Shadowmagic, but most of her skills were with Truemagic, powered by the gold in the mines.
‘She sent for her sisters: Banbha and Fódla. Together they created the Chamber of Runes. Banbha chose the Iodhadh Rune and created the Yewlands. Fódla chose the Quert Rune, and her Choosing created the Orchardlands.’
‘Where did the Imps and the Banshees come from?’
‘When a Virgin Land is created by a Choosing, it is said that often it appears with full-grown trees, but sometimes it appears with people. The Imps supposedly appeared with the Orchardlands. Later, an Imp attempted the Choosing and chose the Ur Rune for the first time, creating the Heatherlands (or the Implands as we call them). That would be one of your friend Araf’s ancestors.
‘The Banshees are different. They believe they were sent for from the Otherworld by Banbha, to protect our shores.’
‘Is this all true?’
‘I don’t know,’ he replied. ‘When I was young, I thought all this was just myth and legend. When the Reedlands appeared, I started to think again.’
As I sat at his feet and listened to him, I realised that I had not only missed a mother in my life, but also a father who could tell the truth. The years of holding back were lifting off his shoulders. He looked younger as he told me things that he had been aching to tell before. I was just about to hear the story of how he got his hand chopped off (and it was easy to guess who did it), when we heard the pathetic yelp of a wounded animal.
Dad and I ran to the blackthorns. It was a wolf—a big wolf. It was manically trying to dig under the blackthorn wall, but the blackthorns were having none of it. The thorns had wrapped themselves around the wolf’s head. There was fresh blood where a thorn had pierced the side of its ear but that wasn’t its only wound. A black arrow stuck out of the wolf’s hindquarters. The whole of its back end was caked with dried blood. The beast made a sickening yelp as the thorns pressed harder. Dad spoke to the blackthorns and they reluctantly loosened their grip.
Dad called to the wolf and said, ‘It is alright, I’ll help you.’ I was shocked when the wolf looked him straight in the eye like he understood. Then the animal collapsed on the ground and if I hadn’t seen it myself, I wouldn’t have believed it–he changed into a man.
‘Get your mother.’
Mom was already on her way when she met me on the road. The blackthorns had told her.
When we arrived back with Dad, she used her wand to part the thorns and we carried him in.
‘What was that?’ I asked, still a bit stunned.
‘He’s a Pooka,’ Dad said. ‘They can change into animals.’
‘Oh, right,’ I said.
Fand and another Fili woman arrived and tended his wounds. They gave him water (which woke him up) and a tonic (that put him to sleep) and carried him back to the village.
The story of how Dad became a lefty had to wait.
Later, back at the village when things had calmed down a bit, Araf, Fergal, Essa, Mom, Aunt Nieve, Dad and I had a late lunch. The food was a vegetarian’s dream. It made me think I would buy a pair of sandals, listen to folk music and forgo hamburger joints forever. The others had been collecting tree sap all morning in preparation for a Shadowcasting after nightfall, and they were almost ready. Fand popped in and informed us that her Pooka patient hadn’t regained consciousness.
Fergal interrupted the chomping. ‘So, Conor, what did you think of the story of how Prince Oisin lost his hand?’
‘I didn’t hear it,’ I said. ‘We were interrupted by a rabid Pooka.’
‘Oisin,’ Mother said, ‘it is time you told your son the tale.’
‘Now?’ Dad said.
Deirdre nodded.
Chapter Eighteen
The Race of the Twins of Macha
Dad planted his elbows on the table and wearily rubbed his eyes. It made me realise that these were probably not the most pleasant memories to retell. He pushed away his lunch plate, slapped his palm on the table and began.
‘Ona made many predictions,’ my father said. ‘We all know about the son of the…’ He lifted his handless arm and pointed to it. ‘But there was another prediction that only my father knew. Ona predicted that, The first of Finn’s sons to perform the Runechoosing would attain the throne.
‘Now, at a very young age, I realised that my brother was a horrid child that would grow up to be an evil man. Finn, like any parent, was slow to see this but by the time my brother reached Rune-age, even my father knew that he did not want Cialtie to hold the throne.
‘Cialtie attained Rune-age a year before me, but Father forbade him to take his Choosing until I was of age as well. Finn told him that he would hold a huge pageant to celebrate The Land’s first double Choosing. This infuriated my brother. He left the castle and did not return for almost a year.
‘After he left, my father revealed to me Ona’s prediction and his wish for me to take my Runechoosing first. We concocted a plan. I pretended to take up fishing as a hobby—in fact, I spent most of my time on Loch Duir, not fishing but–practising rowing.
‘A fortnight before my birthday, Cialtie returned with a group of Banshees. He clamed that Banshees were not treated well in The Land and that these men and women should stay in the castle to promote understanding among the races. Even then, it looked to me as if they were at least bodyguards–and at worst, the beginning of a private army.
‘Father organised a huge celebration, in honour of the two princes of Duir coming of age. The centrepiece of the event was the Sruth de Emain Macha–the Race of the Twins of Macha–a boat race across Loch Duir. Cialtie and I would race the length of the lake, starting at the far shore, and the first to place his runehand on the Castle Beach would be the first to Runechoose.
‘The Runelords and the people of The Land looked at the race as good fun–innocent sibling rivalry, but my father, Ona and I knew the truth–it was a race for the crown.
‘On the morning of the contest, my brother and 1 left early and rode to the far shore. With each of us there rode a second. I brought Eth, the son of my father’s master goldsmith. He was my best friend, the brother that Cialtie was not. Eth knew my brother’s treachery as well as I, and his job was to look out for the dirty tricks that we both knew were coming–Cialtie, as usual, was a step ahead of us. He brought with him a Banshee sorceress named Mná–she was beautiful. All the way to the starting point Mná chatted and flirted with Eth, and by the time we reached the farthest shore, Eth was besotted with the Banshee sorceress–as a security guard he was useless.
‘Cialtie only spoke to me once during the journey. He rode up next to me and said, “This boat race is not as innocent as it seems, is it, brother?” He is the only man who can make the word brother sound like a threat.
‘“I don’t know what you mean,” I replied, as calmly as I could.
‘“I think you do. I think this little contest is very important indeed.”
‘“What makes you say that?”
‘“The way you and Father are acting–you are both such bad liars.”
‘“No one, brother Cialtie, is as good at that as you.”
‘He smiled, like it was a compliment. “I don’t know what you are up to but I am sure that winning this race is very important. Am I right?”
‘He looked me in the eyes–I held his star
e without wavering.
‘“No matter,” he said, “even if this is a bit of frivolity, I can see in your eyes that you want to win. That is reason enough to beat you.” He laughed that disgusting Cialtie laugh and galloped ahead.’
‘There was a pavilion and a small entourage waiting for us at the starting point. After a short breakfast we entered our boats. Mná actually gave Eth a kiss for luck. When their lips parted, he looked like someone had clubbed him over the head. Even I laughed. You see, I was so confident in my rowing superiority that I let my guard down. No one saw Cialtie put the shell under the seat of his boat.
‘The sergeant-at-arms dropped a small gold amulet into a tube that set off a spectacular golden flare. The race was on!
‘Cialtie was always stronger than me and he seemed to have grown stronger in the time since he had been away, but his rowing technique was awful. I had spent months experimenting with length of stroke and the depth of the oars in the water, and had built up my back muscles–I was by far the better rower. The race was mine, but I didn’t want to pull too far ahead. I needed to make it look at least a little close–besides, it was fun. I was a short way ahead of him, effortlessly gliding through the water, watching him strain with sloppy rowing. I was cocky and overconfident–I let him get closer just so he could see that I was hardly even trying.
‘I even allowed my mind to wander. I thought about Deirdre. I had first met her at one of Gerard’s parties. She made quite an impression on me and I on her.’
Dad flashed Deirdre a smile across the table that she returned.
‘I was distressed, like everyone, when I heard that her home had been destroyed, but what really worried me was the news that she had vanished. I persuaded Ona to perform a mini rune reading that hinted to Deirdre’s whereabouts in the Fililands. I told everyone I was going on an extended fishing trip and set out to find her.
