Morrigan ran after her father Dagda trying to catch up to him. He strode through the grass so fast. Morrigan felt so slow moving through the grass carrying Uaithne who sapped her strength for silencing it. “Won’t he slow down? This harp is heavy!”, she thought as she heaved Uaithne’s glittering bulk against herself. “I can barely keep up in this grass. It’s so thick on my feet!”, she thought as she carried her fathers harp.
The long and sweet smelling grass before the citadel drank her strength as she carried Uaithne after Idunn and her father who were growing further and further ahead of her. Morrigan felt herself slowing nearly to a crawl as she carried her father’s harp in her arms.
Idunn and her father far ahead of her seemed to be unbothered as they pushed their paths through the waving violet grass. Idunn herself seemed particularly unbothered as she glided through the grass who bowed in reverence at Idunn’s passing. Idunn looked back to Morrigan struggling with Uaithne and said kindly to her, “Morrigan, my darling, perhaps you should release the harp? You will move easier through the grass, and I believe Uaithne can travel under her own power.”, she said with a sweet smile and the voice of birds.
Dagda barked at Idunn, “Morrigan is to mind my harp! Say no more on it, Idunn!”
Idunn bowed her head low to Dagda as they traveled together, “Apologies, Sovereign, I only saw her struggle. I defer to your will in all things, my king.”, Idunn said in a fleet of chirps.
Dagda did nothing more but grumble and walk faster forward, “Hurry on! You said the Wyrd are waiting!”, he barked again at Idunn who followed dutifully behind the Tuatha king.
“Yes, of course, my King!”, said Idunn smiling as she waited for Morrigan to catch up to her. Idunn smiled at Morrigan and knelt down for her and said, “Climb on my back. I will bear you to the citadel. We must hurry before the Wyrd become too cross at our being late.”, Idunn said kindly as she helped Morrigan on her back with Uaithne.
Morrigan sat upon Idunn's back, her long ebony hair blowing in the wind as they traveled bounding through the grass. Idunn’s legs were tall and graceful branches that made Idunn float through the tall billowing grass, her steps moved effortless as she practically danced through the ever changing and beautiful landscape of Idunn’s garden.
As they followed the path, they passed a field of sunflowers. The cheerful flowers were always facing towards the bright sun in the sky, their petals radiating with warmth and light. Morrigan couldn't help but giggle at the sight of them. Their happiness seemed to fill the air as she and Idunn walked through the tall grass below the sunflower’s towering height. Birds of every color flew out from their petals gleaming with dew in the sunlight.
But soon, the sunflowers gave way to a different kind of beauty. Willows of every color sprouted from the ground, their long branches swaying gently in the breeze. They created a curtain of colors that rang out joyous chimes as they rustled against each other, blending with the sound of the grass beneath their feet.
Morrigan had always loved willows - their graceful branches and delicate leaves were a sight to behold. But she had never seen them in such vibrant colors before. She marveled at how each tree was unique, with its own combination of hues and shades.
High above them, songbirds like jewels flew between the leaves, their wings beating in a glittering display as they followed along with Idunn and Morrigan's journey. Their songs added to the already beautiful symphony of nature surrounding them in Idunn’s garden.
Dagda rushed far ahead of Idunn carrying Morrigan, his strong posture exuded the power and authority of his kingly office as he glowed brilliantly in the coming twilight. A small creek ran down behind him into a spring at the bottom of a tall hill, surrounded by silvery myrtles that sprang golden blooms from their branch in bundles that chimed as the wind made them wiggle in the fading sunlight. Wildflowers whose petals were smooth and shined like rainbow glass grew in the thousands in the meadow which was fed by the ancient spring beyond.
Morrigan sat upon Idunn's back, her long hair flying behind her as they hurried through the grass. Morrigan marveled at the beauty of Idunn’s wild garden and said, “You care for all of this with only an apple? You’re astounding Idunn!”, she said truly impressed and smiling at Idunn who bore her to her father.
Idunn smiled proudly with her rosy lips curling happily, “Oh yes. I have the other Fal Bolg to help, but yes, it is mostly me!” Idunn nearly blushed at Morrigan as her ivory blossoms in her braids hinted a shade pinker at Morrigan’s compliment. Most never noticed Idunn’s beauty, and Idunn was somewhat unused to being reminded of it as she blushed to the compliment.
“Thank you for saying so, little princess. You’re most kind!”, said Idunn smiling back at Morrigan on her back as they arrived near Dagda at the creek overlooking the beautiful meadow and spring. Idunn stopped and sat Morrigan, with Uaithne still clutched against her, on the grass. Idunn leaned in as she sat Morrigan down and she said in a low and quiet buzz, “Remind me little Princess to show you something special later since you enjoy my garden so well!”, said Idunn in a delighted hum. “Just lets keep it a little secret between us. Are you good with secrets?”, she whispered low to Morrigan.
Morrigan's wide, moon-like eyes lit up at the sight of Idunn’s beauty, and she gave a discreet nod so her father wouldn't notice her excitement. Idunn didn't say anything further either, but her smile towards Morrigan showed her joy at Morrigan’s understanding. Idunn’s full lips were tinted with the soft pink of spring roses as they curved elegantly into a smile, but her eyes suddenly lit with an odd light Morrigan did not fully understand. Idunn’s eyes glowed with a silent but hungry ambition.
Idunn graciously guided the stunning Morrigan to Dagda who climbed ahead down towards the spring without them. The fabric of Morrigan's dresses cascaded down her slender thighs, resembling delicate rose petals flowing from her waist. Her lustrous black tresses draped down her back, extending all the way to her knees and leaving behind shimmering ribbons that faded into bright white light at the tips as she traipsed behind Idunn down the hill after her father holding Uaithne to her.
As Morrigan arrived at the foot of the babbling spring, Idunn took the lead, gliding through the shimmering flowers that surrounded them. Each flower seemed to radiate joy as she passed by. With a graceful gesture, Idunn summoned her sparkling red apple úll, which hovered in front of her as a swirling portal emerged up from the babbling waters of the spring. The portal created a perfect mirror, reflecting a magnificent golden throne room through it.
Idunn bowed to Dagda who did not wait for words as he stormed through the mirror and into the Wyrd’s throne chamber. Idunn smiled kindly at Morrigan as she arose from her polite bow and looked at Morrigan holding Uaithne. Morrigan’s knees shivered under her gowns. She began feeling unsure if she even wanted to cross into the portal after her father.
Idunn looked at Morrigan curiously and stated kindly, “You don’t really want to make them all angry at you for being slow and not bearing Uaithne to court as your father charged you to do, do you? They do love their little offences at court. They cherish each one very well.”, Idunn warned Morrigan sweetly chirping. “I would rush after your father, little Princess. Don’t keep him waiting.” Idunn smiled her blushing smile again at Morrigan.
Morrigan nodded vigorously and held tight her father’s harp in her arms as she hopped into the spring and barreled into the shimmering mirror after her father. Idunn simply shook her head and laughed to herself a little chirp from her rosy lips as she followed through the golden mirror behind Morrigan and Uaithne.
As Morrigan stepped into the mirror, she was greeted by the breathtaking sight of the Wyrd themselves seated on their magnificent golden throne among the stars. From high above, their three sets of eyes gazed down upon the court below, emanating a radiant glow that filled the room like sunlight through the breaking branches of the forest grove that sheltered the Tuatha Dea and their attending Fal Bolg from burning under their mother’s all seeing gaze.
Moire, seated on the highest throne and with a vantage point to witness all that unfolds in the present, spoke up. "Dagda, you have come late before us! I am aware of the reason why, and you need not say it, but know we are displeased about it none the less!," she called down from the celestial realm above the grove. “You did not bring all your children as we asked you to!”, Moire shouted, “Where is your eldest with her fine spear we have given to her? Why does she remain with Danu on Brasil and not here in our keeping as we asked you?!”
Dagda curled his lips into a hard frown at his Wyrd mother Moire shouting at him. He shouted back up at his mothers, “Should you not already know the reason why, Mother Moire?! You three see all! You already know I will not disgrace Tir Na n?g and Akash by offering her weak children to her groves!”, shouted Dagda with a fist held high in defiance before the Wyrd, “You most of all despise the weakest of us! Why should you want Eriu to come join us here?!”
The golden Moira who sees all that comes from the future, seated on the glimmering throne to the left of Moire, screamed out in frustration. She had witnessed all that was about to unfold and could take no more of the pointless yelling between Moire and Dagda below. Moira yelled up to Moire high above her, “You don’t need to worry too much about it, Moire! Eriu is where she is needed!”, she said petting her chin slyly.
Moira turned her gaze downward and smiled down at Dagda with a warm glow and said, “You did well to bring us your two glowing daughters. They will bloom in our garden like spring flowers in our light. We will see to it, Dagda.” Moira brimmed with a radiant shine of furious power as her focus turned away from Dagda and she shouted down at the Fal Bolg servants attending her Tuatha children in the grove below, “You dim and foggy shades go find me Bres! Bring that glowing idiot to me now! He’s in the forest somewhere I see, but it’s dark and he’s not wearing his helmet?!”, Moira said as she raised her hands to her eyes trying hard to see Bres better in the dark, but she could not. She screamed out from her throne above the cowering Fal Bolg, “Go get him!”
The Fal Bolg assembled quickly and leaped over the ornately set tables under the trees, not caring about the food that was scattered in their wake. They pushed aside chairs and obstacles in their path, following the Wyrd Mother Moira’s orders to exit the throne room. The trembling Fal Bolg stumbled and tripped over one another as they rushed towards the portal beside Morrigan, donning their worn and dark armor in a frantic attempt to find Bres, the king of Atlantis, missing in the ancient and sprawling woods beyond the glass.
Morrigan observed with mild amusement as the Wyrd commanded the Fal Bolg to gather and transform into a neat and swirling mist. The ancient soldiers clad in their failing and misty armor then charged out through the main corridor, on a mission to find King Bres in the ancient grove beyond the Wyrd's palace.
Morrigan then turned her gaze towards the court, its golden magnificence shining before her. Above the starry canopy of trees that surrounded the court hung long, flowing tapestries like flowing shrouds of sparkling starlight. These tapestries depicted the stories of all that the Wyrd had created and overseen, woven by the Wyrd themselves upon their loom Kismet, into intricate patterns of ancient runes that Morrigan didn’t know. Each tapestry swayed gently in the breeze, hanging from the branches of the starry forest trees making Morrigan’s studious mind more and more curious.
Morrigan struggled to decipher the stories and symbols written in the ancient runes, but they seemed to dance away from her gaze. Idunn leaned in behind her, watching as Morrigan attempted to make sense of a nearby tapestry that hung lower than the rest. "Only the Wyrd can truly understand Kismet's runes," she whispered, a hint of smugness in her voice. "Don't waste your time trying to solve them. Your grandmothers hold the secret to unlocking their meaning jealously, but they are quite skilled at weaving them into beautiful patterns, don't you think?", said Idunn as she chirped and smiled sweetly over Morrigan's slim shoulder.
King Dagda marched before Morrigan and Idunn with a proud gait, King Dagda's presence loomed over Morrigan and Idunn. The Tuatha watched him arrive with a mixture of impatience and respect. Canta, second brother of the Tuatha and physician to the Sidhe Court, impatiently tapped his foot and frowned while standing in front of the throne of the Wyrd mothers that seemed to reach up into the heavens. Standing beside Canta was his son Miach, who held a stern yet attractive smile as he looked at Morrigan from beside the throne and his father, Canta.
Canta's expression was reserved, but his voice displayed clear annoyance as he spoke, "You're late!”, spoke Canta at Dagda in a manner verging on being ungracious. “We had to begin without you!”
Dagda’s younger brother Canta scowled over his long, neat beard that grew down from his cheeks and chin like shards of frozen glass until it tapered into a sharp point at his chin. Adorned in dark cerulean robes that emitted swirling patterns of light, Canta stood before the thrones of the Wyrd mothers exuding authority. His golden sword dangled from his hip, encased within an ornate scabbard crafted out of intertwined branches. Hidden within the scabbard lay the dormant golden blade Excalibur, awaiting its master's hand to grasp it.
“So the mothers above us have already said Canta!”, said Dagda even more annoyed than he already was beforehand. His patience withering rapidly as he approached his scowling brother. “You don’t need to repeat them to me!”, Dagda shouted out annoyed. “Why is Bres not with us but in the woods, Mothers?”, he questioned up at the Wyrd seated high above.
From her vantage point above, Moiri, who sees all that has happened before, called down to Dagda with a bright and annoyed glow. "I have witnessed that Bres refuses to stand before us at court! He brings no good news from Atlantis, but this is unacceptable! He must explain why our treasury is empty and why our oricalculm is still not here as promised!" Moiri shouted at Dagda. "The Fal Bolg will bring him before us soon enough to answer why he defies our will. Enough of Bres! Summon your daughters so we might see them clearer!"
Dagda bowed low as he answered his mothers above him, “Mothers, I have only brought one daughter with me for now.,” King Dagda announced before the magnificent throne of the Wyrd. “The other daughter displeased me, and I refused to reveal your grandeur to her until in the morning light. Morrigan, come forth!” he commanded.
“Hmm..Oh, yes!”, said Moiri, looking to her sisters holding her hand to her lips in embarrassment, “I see that now that I’m looking at it directly!”, she admitted, “That did happen before Bres ran away crying from the courtroom before. I was so distracted I replayed it in my mind awhile.”, she mused to her sisters, before Moiri looked over at Moira and said, “You really should try to be nicer! You can be so scathing sometimes! He wouldn’t have ran away if you hadn’t shouted so loudly, I think.”, she accused Moira.
“Well, you just always focus on what was! I have to look ahead, and he must do as he is told, Moiri! Listen to me instead of always looking back all the time!”, Moira insisted to her sister.
“Well then I would be blind, you fool!”, said Moiri as the three sisters laughed together on their thrones. Ignoring Dagda who was beginning to fume at their bantering.
"Mothers, I bring Morrigan!", he announced, raising his voice so that the three Goddesses above could hear him. "She is prepared to prove herself and join your court," he stated firmly, bowing to his mothers as they looked on with joyful expressions. As Dagda began to speak again, trying to say something about Morrigan, but the Wyrd spoke over him booming out their voices with thunderous joy.
“Welcome Granddaughter! We’re so happy you’ve come to us here!”, the three of them boomed together from their thrones above Dagda, talking over him much to his annoyance. “Come forward to us! Let us look at you!”, they said in the same voice together.
With hesitant steps, Morrigan made her way towards the Wyrd's throne. She couldn't help but feel even more apprehensive than she already had as she gazed up at the imposing figure of her uncle Canta, his cold blue eyes fixated on her. They seemed to pierce through her with a starry light that chilled her to the bone, like two frozen nebulae lost in time.
As Morrigan curtsied low before the Wyrd's throne, her heart raced with fear and awe. The power emanating from the Wyrd Mothers above was overwhelming but also exhilarating to her. She smiled to herself and gripped Uaithne who hummed quietly against her in protest.
Morrigan looked upwards and was overcome with a deep sense of reverence for her grandmother’s eternal reign over them all. At the power glowing off of them. Morrigan wanted in that moment to join with their light, and to even supersede it one day! Morrigan silently basked in a light of ambition that spilled out from the power of the Wyrd above her.
Uaithne, who she clung to tightly, wiggled in her grasp as if sensing the Wyrd's presence and Morrigan’s ambition. Morrigan smiled sweetly up at the mothers above, trying to hide her fear and awe with a coy smile. She knew that she had displeased her father on their trip here, and she could only hope that the Wyrd would show her mercy for it if they had seen it in their visions. She knew she must demonstrate her success at Ascension before the court, and she would! “I’m going to give them a dance to remember.”, she thought then to herself looking at her grandmothers. “I will show them all how bright I can shine, and how high I can rise!”, she thought, feeling determined to show her worth to the Tuatha Dea and the Wyrd.
"Hello, little one," Moiri spoke with a kind voice, smiling down at Morrigan from her throne. "I am glad you are here. Your father has brought you before us to see your abilities firsthand. I, for one know you can perform the steps, but I saw them only from afar. Show us your path to Akash now, sweet child of Dagda. We are all excited to see you Ascend!" Moiri looked up and tugged at Moire’s robes, “Don’t you love it too? Watching the babes glow for the first time?!”, she said excitedly.
Moire looked down with her sisters shared excitement, “Oh yes! I love when our wee lambs grow their first fleece. They have such a fine shine at that small age.”, Moire said booming above, glowing out her happy light into the starry void haloing her. “Let us see you shine, child!”, said Moire even more excitedly than Moiri had sounded before.
Canta choked up at Moiri and Moire telling Morrigan to Ascend. He coughed loudly out before the Wyrd. “Exalted Wyrd Mothers, I think we should instead adjourn to the holy apple groves of the Achad Abla! Balor waits already there with his daughter Macha awaiting the Unicorn to arrive with Aiden from the forest path. Balor is impatient for the Unicorn to run and for your prize you say you offer to the winner. Do you offer your prize to any contestant, or only those not past their Rite of Calling?”, said Canta looking to his mothers expectantly.
From her throne, Moira's voice rang out, "You understand our courts customs, Canta! Only the pure-hearted children of the court are allowed to participate in the Rite of Calling. Your son has already completed it before, and we will not allow him to do so again! Do not ask it again!", the starlit goddess screamed as she shone brightly from her throne.
Canta humbly knelt before his shining mothers and responded, "I understand, I will follow your wishes. I only hoped that Miach could have a better experience this time around. As you already know, he fell during his previous ride on the Unicorn, even if he did manage to call a Unicorn to him and pass the calling. I thought it would be a kind gesture from his grandmothers if he could redeem himself by riding tonight. But I will certainly comply with your commands.", Canta said bowing before the Wyrd.
The three Wyrd’s voices in unison descended in a burst of brightness, crying out "No!" as they faced the kneeling Canta who seethed with anger at their decision regarding his son.
Canta's jaw was clenched as bowed, and his fists balled into cracking ice as he rose from his bowed position. His eyes were cold and hard, the anger in them barely contained.
Despite his anger, Canta stood tall and composed, his eyes cold with fury as he looked up at the shining thrones of the Wyrd. His broad shoulders were tense and his jaw clenched in determination, but his voice remained measured and kind as he said, “Of course, your will be done, mothers.”
Moira stood tall on her shining throne, her golden hair cascading down her back and her eyes glittering like two stars with determination. As she called out to the court, her voice echoed through the halls, commanding the Tuatha feasting below’s attention. The Wyrd, three golden and triplicate figures, stood up from their thrones together, their faces glowing with an otherworldly light. Together, they pointed to a grand golden gate that appeared before them, adorned with columns of unicorns rearing up on their hind legs and the doors of the gates became golden falling leaves as they opened to allow the courts passing through the Sepulchre of Akash into Achad Alba beyond.
Moira stood tall and mighty on her shining throne, as she looked down at the court below. “Adjourn to the Sepulchre and then on to Achad Abla! There we will see Dagda’s daughter perform Ascension while we await the Unicorn to appear!”, said Moira calling out her demand like the crashing of a star. The Wyrd Moiri and Moire, with their luminous robes and sparkling eyes, joined their golden sister and pointed the way to the Sepulchre and together they cried out their command of, “Go!”, before vanishing in a shimmering ray of golden light.
Canta near the throne turned away at Wyrd’s command to leave the throne room and venture through the gate. His eyes suddenly froze over Morrigan as he passed her leaving the dais before the throne. He turned back and addressed Dagda accusingly with a voice as cold as a winter’s wind, “Why is she carrying Uaithne, Brother Dagda? Can not Uaithne fly on her own?”, Canta said as he looked over Morrigan holding her father’s harp. “Are you so weak and frail now brother you cannot make Uaithne glide? Give her to me if you’re too old to lift your harp.”, Canta said as jape, but Morrigan saw the raw hunger in Canta’s eyes as he watched her holding Uaithne. His gaze made her knees quiver unexpectedly below her gowns.
Morrigan's body stiffened as she gripped Uaithne tightly in her arms, her face paled. She felt her moonlit eyes certainly widen with her fear. Canta's cold and calculating eyes bore into her, his lips twisted into a mean blue sneer as he looked down at her. Morrigan's own eyes, usually bright and vibrant as moonlight, now seemed cloudy and dim as her confidence faded rapidly under Canta’s frigid blue eyes.
Dagda spoke up loudly and irritated, “Don’t you jest with me today, Canta! I’m in no mood for your wild ambitions!”, Dagda said grasping his head as if he was coming into a headache. “Don’t pester Morrigan she does as I ask! Don’t pester me, either! I am still your king, Canta!”
Canta's eyes flickered with a faint blue light at Dagda's reminder that he was king. Canta was all too aware of his brother's position as ruler over him and the other Tuatha, and he resented it deeply. However, he forced a cold smile onto his face and bowed in false humility as he responded, "As you and the Wyrd have proclaimed, Brother, you are indeed king, but I implore you to never forget how you came to be so." Canta said as he smiled, but his eyes gleaned with malice.
Dagda ignored Canta's hostile glare and continued towards the gate, gifted to them by the Wyrd. Dagda waved off Canta’s words with a hand as he stormed passed him and down the dais steps. The entire golden court rose from their feasting tables and beautiful hall of floating shrouds to follow their adored king Dadga.
Canta gave Morrigan one last suspicious look before storming off and joining the rest of the court through the gate, Morrigan caught a glimpse of Idunn following behind her father with the court. Morrigan, herself, was left alone on the dais with only Uaithne and Miach, son of Canta.
Morrigan caught a glimpse of Miach's blue eyes as he smiled and walked past her. He resembled his father, but his features were gentler. While Canta possessed the strength of an icy tempest, Miach exuded the charm of freshly fallen snow, inviting others to come and explore its frozen beauty. Morrigan was enticed by the blue light of his aura as Miach passed her, but she said nothing. She only watched as he passed her, but he stopped and he suddenly gave Morrigan his brightest smile.
"I apologize if my father caught you off guard," he said sympathetically. "He may come across as brusque and sharp as a pin, but he has a good heart." Miach spoke kindly, bowing deeply and taking Morrigan's hand in his own. He pressed a gentle and polite kiss to it, as was customary at court. Despite the flutter in her chest, Morrigan maintained her composed smile as she held onto Uaithne. She did not let her emotions show on her face.
Miach looked up from his kissing her hand with his blue eyes shining kindly, “I’m excited to see your Ascension. I expect it will be as lovely as you are, Princess.”, Miach said with his smile glittering like freshly fallen snow at her. Miach’s glittering beauty nearly took her breath away, but Morrigan stayed calm and only smiled as she said, “You’re over kind! I’m truly nervous, really. I hope that it won’t reflect in my steps.”, she said feeling a little more worried despite Miach’s happy smiling face before her. “I do not want to disappoint anyone by not shining bright enough.”
“I don’t think anyone could possibly think of you as disappointing, but I can imagine feeling nervous. I am used to that feeling myself.”, he paused and thought for a moment with a sigh, “What sometimes helps me is if I just let go of it and ride the feeling. It usually goes away soon after. At least, that’s how it works for me, anyway.”, he said smiling as he began to turn away towards the Wyrd’s gate. “I wish you great success, Morrigan. I will see you at Achad Alba.”
Miach began to take a step away from Morrigan but stopped. He turned back and asked, “But do you need an escort through the gate?”, he said slyly as he held out his arm and smiled kindly. “I make a fine escort in a pinch.”, Miach said smiling at Morrigan as he winked at her with his arm outstretched awaiting her to accept his invitation to join him through the gate.
Morrigan looked at his arm and wished she could grasp it, but Uaithne misbehaved and wobbled in her grasp. Morrigan sighed and shook her head as she said, “Thank you, but I can manage to Achad Alba.” She lit up thinking suddenly, “But can you maybe walk beside me as we go?”, Morrigan asked shyly as she looked to her feet then back up into Miach’s silvery blue eyes looking at her. She said then quietly but so Miach could hear her, “I cannot take your arm you offer. I am sorry for that.”
Morrigan held Uaithne even tighter as she half lied, “It would upset my father if I were to come to the sacred grove on another’s arm. He says I must travel through the Sepulchre alone, but I would not mind the company of you if you trailed near by me as I do.”, she said smiling as Uaithne jumped in her arms and made the faint sound of a lamb braying at each of her lying words.
Miach looked around suddenly confused at hearing a lamb and said, “Did you hear that? Did old Fidget let a lamb in here to cause a scene?”, Miach said laughing as he looked around for both the lamb and this Fidget that Morrigan did not know. “Where is he and his sheep? I heard it I thought?” Miach looked at Morrigan with confused eyes, “You heard it too, didn’t you?”
Morrigan said nothing as she did not want Uaithne to sound out again. Morrigan shook her head side to side as she smiled and walked past Miach towards the gate. “I am going through the gate now. Are you coming?”, she said smiling back at Miach as he still looked for the missing lamb in the great banquet hall beyond the Wyrd’s throne before giving up and just joining with Morrigan at the gate.
As they walked together through the gate and into the Sepulchre of Akash, a grand foyer welcomed them, reminiscent of the cella of an ancient temple. The walls were adorned with intricate golden patterns of the Wyrd’s runes that changed and moved, and columns of gold reigned down magnificently from the air like beams of heavenly light. In the center of the cella stood a golden root, spanning high into the celestial ceiling above and curling into a single great star that shone down brilliantly over all.
Morrigan's eyes widened in wonder as she took in the magnificent sight expanding out before her. Beside her, Miach wore a look of reverence while also glancing over at Morrigan to see her reaction to seeing Akash's root for the first time. The mighty root reached towards the sky, connecting them to Tir Na n?g and everything in between with its shining light. As they stood there, Morrigan couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement at the thought of all the possibilities and connections that existed within Akash's root.
Morrigan held her breath as she and Miach both made their way towards the shining root of Akash. As they approached it, Morrigan could feel a pulse emanating from it – as if it was alive and breathing. She reached out to touch it but hesitated when she noticed small buds sprouting from its surface. The flowers shimmered a golden shine as they bloomed open and released their floral beauty all throughout the chamber.
“They smell like apple honey and amber,” she said in amazement.
“Yes,” Miach replied. “Akash is constantly growing and changing, much like our own souls are. Her blooming like that is lucky, did you know? I think she is excited for your Ascension, too.”, Miach said giving Morrigan his charming smile again.
Morrigan smiled and nodded at Miach’s kind words and continued to study the root before them before bowing reverently with Uaithne and saying to the root, “Bless you, Mother of Mothers, and thank you.”, before she bowed to the mighty Akash then turned and began to follow after the rest of the court already leaving towards the apple grove of Achad Alba.
Miach followed Morrigan as they passed by Akash's roots and arrived at a gate guarded by a line of towering silver Fal Bolg. The priestly Fal Bolg statues standing beside the high silver gate held long golden staves that were ablaze with sconces of rainbow flames, casting a mesmerizing dance of colors across the ever changing patterns of the golden walls around the gate.
Morrigan observed the Fal Bolg priests and looked to Miach, “I am surprised these were left here this way. Did not the Wyrd demand that all Fal Bolg effigies and ruins be destroyed? I think I recall my fathers saying so once.”, said Morrigan looking curious at Miach for answers.
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Miach beamed his charming and icy smile next to Morrigan, confidently revealing the answer from all the years he had spent studying under his father's tutelage, “These were left here for one reason only.”, he said almost giggling about it.
“Morrigan looked to Miach with her moonlit eyes expectantly and asked with a smile, “Well? What was the reason?!”
Miach leaned down and whispered into Morrigan’s ear softly so no other could hear him say, “The fires burn the smell of the roots of Akash away from entering the Wyrd’s loom chamber. They say the smell of Akash can become so strong a smell the Wyrd cannot weave on Kismet if the fires do not burn.”
“They tried to change the look of the statues to your father and mine, but somehow they always return back to Fal Bolg priests. These Fal Bolg cannot be removed nor changed no matter how it angers my father that his effigy does not stand guarding the gates to Achad Alba.”, he mused with a smile concealed behind his hand.
Miach smiled wider behind his hand and whispered far lower as he revealed his suspicion, “I think Idunn, the grounds keeper, I think she makes the statues somehow always change back to Fal Bolg. Though no one has ever caught or accused her of doing so, these two statues remain one of our many little palace mysteries we’ve yet to solve. Perhaps only the Wyrd know the truth of it.”, he said laughing a little in Morrigan’s ear.
Morrigan looked back at Miach as he pulled away from her ear and for a moment they locked eyes. Morrigan became enchanted with Miach’s cool gaze, but Uaithne jumped in her arms and broke the gaze suddenly.
“I should hurry”, Morrigan suddenly said. “I’m expected to Ascend now!”, she said nervously as she held tightly to Uaithne in her arms and ran ahead through the gate as she felt her cheeks blush from having locked eyes with Miach in such a way. Her heart skipped with her steps thinking on him and his words to her as she stepped through the silvery portal gate into the garden orchard of Achad Alba.
The air when she entered the fabled gardens of Achad Alba were alive with the sweet scent of wild flowers and apple blooms as Morrigan and Miach strolled from the path from the gate further into the garden to where the court awaited them.
The air around the garden as they walked carried a sweet and earthy scent, the lingering aroma of the blooming flowers and the fresh, new growth of Akash's root mingled in the night.The air was filled with a subtle floral scent, the tender aroma of the blooming buds on Akash's root spilled out along with roots themselves into the garden of tall and silver apple trees, but the golden trees bore no fruit Morrigan noticed as she looked out over the garden before her and breathed in its fresh perfumes.
“Have the trees not bloomed?”, Morrigan asked Miach as they walked together down the path of starry flowers growing up from the trimmed and velvety grass at their feet.
“Soon they will when Inis Fáil passes over and by then the apples will grow. Then they will bloom, but only as half as lovely as you already have.”, said Miach looking to Morrigan with his blue eyes that made her heart skip beats for some reason. Morrigan felt herself blushing as she turned her head so Miach could not see her smiling because of him.
“Ah, I did not know.”, she said shyly as her eyes shimmered without her knowing and she smiled bashfully, her cheeks glowing. Miach’s full smile stunned her so that Morrigan turned her face away from Miach towards the apple trees beyond. “Will Inis Fáil come soon?”, she said turning back to Miach with a more austere smile replacing her more giddy one she’d concealed from Miach.
“Soon, yes.”, he said showing Morrigan his most charming smile and his wintry white teeth in response to her unchanging smile she always wore. “When our grounds keeper, the Idunn I mentioned earlier, when her son Aiden arrives from the forest with his Fal Bolg then Inis Fáil will grace the orchard.”
Miach looked ahead and saw Idunn standing near the King Dagda whispering something to him over his shoulder. His charming smile dipped suddenly looking at the beautiful Fal Bolg Idunn. He leaned into Morrigan and whispered into her ear, “Have you met Idunn yet, by chance?”, he said lowly as Morrigan and he continued down the silvery path of flowers to greet the court.
“I did.”, said Morrigan in a whisper behind her hand so no other could hear her speak either, “Why do you ask me?”, she said feeling a little concerned now as she looked at Idunn ahead with her father. “She seems very kind.”, said Morrigan in Idunn’s defense.
Miach nodded at Morrigan and whispered low to her, “Oh yes, she is, but there’s always something about her kind smile that I find alarming, but you could say the same of anyone at court.”, Miach admitted with a terseness to his voice that betrayed his unchanging smile. “I just would like you to be careful is all. I would hate to see Dagda’s beautiful daughter gone astray because of a silly Fal Bolg.”, Miach said as his truly charming and refreshing smile returned to his eyes and his face at his complimenting Morrigan who blushed wildly as he called her beautiful.
Morrigan didn’t at all know what to say. She had never been called beautiful by anyone other than her parents before and other adults, and even then only rarely when she had truly earned it from them to say so. Morrigan was aflutter with butterflies inside her at his complimenting her, but also she wanted to remain cool and level headed like her father had always carried himself.
She replied simply, “Thank you. I am glad you enjoy looking at my glory.”, she said proudly as she strolled past the smiling Miach, and as she took two steps past him she turned and whispered to him, “I hope you continue to keep looking and enjoying doing so.”, she said with a sly grin as she walked away suppressing the giggles building up inside her for Miach’s pleasant smile as she hurried with Uaithne held against her wiggling at her joy in her arms.
Morrigan walked into the orchard, making her way towards Dagda and Idunn who were already seated on the grass under the silver apple trees. The ground was covered in golden daisy flowers, creating a soft blanket beneath them. As they waited for Inis Fáil's arrival and the unicorns, they also waited to see Morrigan demonstrate her Ascending before the Wyrd.
Morrigan's hands trembled slightly as she walked through the orchard towards Dagda, her eyes catching the glint of golden starlight reflecting off the Wyrd Mothers seated on a floating cloud high above the court dangling their three sets of feet over the side as they lounged above the orchard grove waiting.
She could see her father’s stoic expression looking at her holding his harp and felt a flutter of anxiety in her chest as he said, “Hurry over there now!”, he said pointing through the trees of the grove, “Don’t make me and your grandmothers wait!”, he commanded Morrigan. “Give to me my harp. You’ve done well with Uaithne.”, he said suddenly smiling a little. “Go beyond the trees. Your grandmothers will tell you what to do. Now go”, Dagda said as Uaithne sprung from her grasp and fled over to her father who took the harp into his own arms like an inviting hug to an old friend.
Dagda leaned in close, speaking in a hushed voice that no one else could hear. "Don't make a sound," he whispered to Uaithne. "I'll give you extra attention later when I tune you if you behave, and I’ll throw in some tickles!" Uaithne's soundboard seemed to glitter in response, promising its full cooperation with Dagda who winked to Uaithne as his only response.
Morrigan turned herself and followed her father's instructions and headed towards the trees, turning around to make sure she was going in the right direction. With her eyes shining with anticipation, she scanned the trees for Miach. She soon spotted him seated next to his regal father, both of them surrounded by a patch of beautiful shining blue bells. As Morrigan turned back around, she couldn't help but feel excited at the opportunity to show off her abilities to the handsome Miach. Her nerves had left her entirely as she raced under the glittering apple branches above her.
As Morrigan emerged from the trees, she found herself in a large clearing. The sky was open and free of the orchard and its branches, allowing one to Ascend high into the heavens. The ground beneath her feet was covered in shimmering violet grass that hugged Morrigan’s legs as it swayed against her, heightening her senses and grounding her to the roots of reality.
Above her now floated the cloud and the Wyrd. They hovered seated above Morrigan as three shining figures of golden light, their forms almost ethereal as they gazed at her with wise and all-knowing eyes.
"Morrigan," they said in unison, their voices like music to her ears. "We have been waiting for you! Welcome to our garden of Tir Na n?g, Daughter of Dagda!", they said sweetly together.
Morrigan approached them slowly, feeling a sense of reverence wash over her again standing in her Grandmother’s light. She knelt down before them, bowing her head in respect even as the violet grass tickled her nose and made her want to giggle.
"Rise," Moiri of the Wyrd Mothers said kindly. "We will explain now the Rite!"
Morrigan stood up, feeling a mix of excitement and nervousness bubbling inside her. She knew this was a great honor bestowed upon her that the Wyrd would invite her to court and ask her proving Ascension before the whole Sidhe, but she looked beyond through the trees with a sideways glance and couldn’t help feeling a small disappointment her mother Danu wouldn’t see her Ascend. Morrigan bit her lip silently and tried to not let her disappointment affect her showing her glow as the Wyrd explained the rules of the Rite.
"We will guide you through the steps," Moira, Wyrd Mother said instructively,"But it is up to you to call upon Akash and show us your strength and connection to the divine Root of Mothers!"
Moire called out then to Morrigan her instruction, “You must Ascend to our feet, if you can.”, she said slyly, “Only then will you be proven worthy to grace Tir Na n?g with your light”, yelled down the ancient goddess of destiny from high above.
Morrigan looked up at her grandmother, nodding in understanding. Morrigan closed her eyes and took a deep breath, focusing all her attention on the energy within herself. She thought of Miach's smile, a happy memory that made her giggle. "Just enough of him to make me glitter a little," she thought with a smile and biting her lip coyly over it, recalling his wintry beauty.
The music began to play for Morrigan. It was a sound more beautiful than Uaithne had ever sung to her short memory, but it existed only for Morrigan and her thoughts. Morrigan swayed to an internal rhythm that only she could hear, she saw roots springing up like starlight along the ground. Morrigan welcomed the roots to bind to her legs and the light of Akash led her steps through the grass. She could feel Akash's gentle vibrations pulsating through every inch of her body, waiting to be released as she walked on the flowering golden roots that sprouted out under each of her steps hoisting her into in the air.
She took the first step of faith one must take to rise above and greet Akash as she ascended into the air from her dance that began in the grass. Her gait took the form of moonlight snowing silver white rose petals under each of her steps as she thought once more of Miach’s glittering white aura touching hers as they had walked together to Achad Alba. Morrigan swayed to the music of new love in her mind and climbed through the air, “Higher! I can rise higher still!”, she urged herself in a beautiful scene of dips, bows, and twirls as she danced her way across the moonlight of her happiness and up into the stars.
As she climbed higher, runes and circles of glyphs began springing up in her mind and appeared as intricate weaves of glowing sigils in the air around her steps, their runes glowing with an otherworldly light. The ancient Fey runes danced and swirled, creating a mesmerizing display that seemed to come from within her as she danced above the glittering branches of Achad Alba, shining with her dazzling power.
As Morrigan climbed higher and higher, she could see circles of words forming in her mind. They glowed with a soft, otherworldly light, swirling and dancing before her. The meanings of these words were both familiar and foreign, as if from another time and place. She watched as they weaved together, like intricate patterns of ancient Fey runes, shimmering in the starlight as she reached out to them, hoping to grasp a string of the runes in her hands from her dreaming.
As Morrigan danced and glided higher and higher, the intricate circles of words in her mind formed into swirling patterns of light, each one pulsating with its own meaning and power. These words, though familiar to her despite her not really comprehending them, held an otherworldly quality that excited her as she chased after and danced with each rune trying to order them into a meaning she could understand. The dream-like images that played in her mind were like a tapestry woven from the threading roots of Akash, each one adding to the beauty and complexity of the scenes of silver grass she saw playing inside her.
Morrigan lifted above the clouds, her body glowing silver as she weaved powerful glyphs in the air. The court watched in awe as her runes took shape and cast intricate circles of light into the night sky. As she ascended higher and higher, her brilliance only grew, until she was nearly reaching the height of the Wyrd on their cloud high in the stars.
In her mind, Morrigan galloped through the tall grass atop a majestic unicorn. The creature was crafted from stars and the essence of time itself - a magnificent steed. She rode Dub Sainglend through the astral landscape, soaring over silver hills and chasing after the wind. A joyful grin stretched across her face as she clung to his powerful neck, swept away by the thrill of her dream.
Morrigan was dreaming and dancing under Akash’s power and never noticed how her dreams spilled out from her and into the runes that spanned across the sky and court. The Wyrd themselves watched her runes with much interest as Morrigan arose higher and higher.
Idunn who sat beside Dagda watching and could read every rune Morrigan made in the sky smiled a subtle smile as she turned to address her king, “She is a marvel, your Morrigan, your Radiance! I don’t think I have ever seen such a pure light as hers. Not for some time, anyway.”, she said coyly smiling at her king.
Dagda who only knew the basics of the ancient and forgotten Fey could only read a little, but it was enough for him to grow a scowl watching Morrigan’s runes as he said back to Idunn, “She did not glow quite this brightly for her mother and myself on Brasil. Perhaps the Wyrd are to blame?”, he whispered to his favored advisor in her ear hoping his mothers would not notice while they watched Morrigan’s display above. “I do not think my daughter even knows those runes. It must be them meddling somehow.”, he said scowling up at his daughter in the sky.
Idunn looked surprised as she looked at her King Dagda who looked upwards at Morrigan glowing above in suspicion as Idunn chirped worriedly, “You think they did something to your daughter, my King? Why would they?”
“Who knows the will of my mighty mothers other than they themselves, but I recognize their scheming when its in front my eyes.”, he said flatly in a whisper, “Not with my children will they go on with their scheming.”, he vowed then watching Morrigan’s runes glittering above him.
“I would never presume to know the minds of the All-Mighty Wyrd, nor your own, my king, but it seems to me your child is simply very gifted. Perhaps Tir Na n?g is the reason she shines so, all ancient leylines converge upon the Isle. Perhaps that is the only reason she shines brighter than she did once in Brasil.” Idunn smiled as she played with her braid in her hand while she watched Morrigan dance above, “You must be very proud of her, my king.”, chirped Idunn politely from beside her sovereign, her lips curled in their usual sweet smile. “She really is astounding to watch.”, buzzed Idunn as her smile widened some watching Morrigan’s runes shine above.
“Yes, I suppose she is, but I wish she’d have held back some of her light.”, said Dagda annoyed as he looked around the court and saw everyone whispering over the runes shining above Achad Alba and the court. “I think she might give others the wrong idea the way she’s shining.”
Dagda cast his eyes over at Canta sitting upon his seat of faintly glowing blue bells beyond. He felt a cold rage watching his younger brother smiling ambitiously at Morrigan in the sky. “What do you think Canta will do over this?”, whispered Dagda to Idunn in her small pointed ear.
Idunn subtly looked over to Canta smiling at the sky, “I imagine Canta will do what Canta always does when there’s a bone near. He’ll gnaw at it like the hungry hound he is, my King, but I think his hands are bound from doing anything too rash.”, Idunn scoffed, “He has his duties for the Wyrd. He must again go and insist for more Fomorians to dig the roots in Atlantis. The Fomorians of Mag Itha refused Bres and his orders to dig, or so a bird once told me”, Idunn chirped smiling her sweet smile to Dagda.
“Good. I’m glad the Wyrd finally dispatched him. He can be Bres’s problem now, but I am glad there will be a quick solution to our orichalcum problem. Canta will see those Femorians know their place in the Sidhe. They grasp too high!,” said Dagda harshly into Idunn’s ear before returning his attention back to Morrigan ascending in the sky.
“Indeed, your Radiance.”, said Idunn playing with her silver braids in her lap and watching Morrigan’s beauty spill out from her across the darkened sky, her eyes lighting with their light of ambition as her smile widened into a lovely curve on her heart shaped face.
As Morrigan continued to ascend, her body moving in fluid, graceful movements as she focused on her dream, she was unaware that she had reached the same level as the powerful Wyrd Mothers. They all looked at her with a mixture of anger and suspicion as Morrigan's runes flowed over them, smashing against their runes hovering invisible in the air.
“Who does this little one think she is? Rising above us all, shining like a star?”, whispered Moiri to Moire and then to Moira in a line, their whispers filled with disdain for Morrigan who Ascended and did not stop.
“I do not know, but I do not trust her. She seems too ambitious for such a young child! No other would dare fly above our heads!”, replied Moiri with a frown.
“What could she possibly want up there?”, said Moira pointing up, “Does she think she can reach the realms of the Akash over us?”, exclaimed Moira in disbelief.
Morrigan continued to dance and twirl in the sky, completely oblivious to the Wyrd Mothers’ disapproval in their gaze and their whispering. Morrigan’s dreams were too big for the Wyrd to understand, too wild for them to control. Morrigan’s will reached far out past Achad Alba, and nothing was going to stop her from reaching for the stars as she rode Dub Sainglend up an arching path into the heavens to chase after those same stars she reached out to.
The mothers continued to watch Morrigan with both fear and fascination. They had never seen anything like this before. A child who shone so brightly and reached such great heights above them was unheard of, unthinkable!
Morrigan gasped out as she was suddenly yanked out of the air and pulled down towards the Wyrd Mothers. She looked up in shock and fear, her dreams forgotten as she saw Moira's hand engulfing her, holding her tight.
"Let me go! What are you doing?! How did I offend you? I am sorry I did so, Grandmothers! Mercy on me please!", Morrigan cried out, struggling against Moira's searing grasp.
Moira's grip only tightened as she and the other Wyrd stared hard at Morrigan together, their eyes burning with gold light as they examined her very soul. "You dare to rise above us? To shine brighter than even the Wyrd Mothers? What trick did Danu teach you when we were not looking?", she hissed in a whisper to Morrigan, her voice filled with jealousy and anger.
Morrigan could feel the power emanating from Moira's hand, a power that threatened to crush her. She struggled even harder, trying desperately to break free.
"You are but a child," said Moiri, joining in on the scolding. "You have no place among us here unless we grant it! How dare you shine over us!", she hissed as her light scalded Morrigan’s eyes from between Moira’s fingers.
"And yet you think you can reach beyond us and grasp the heavens?!" added Moire, looking down at Morrigan with disdain as she whispered harshly at Morrigan who trembled in Moira’s hand.
Morrigan could feel tears starting to form in her eyes as she realized that her grandmothers did not understand or approve of her dreaming. Morrigan had not meant to soar so high, but the dreaming had carried her away into the heavens. She stopped struggling and hung limply in Moira's grasp, feeling defeated and small.
Moira released Morrigan from her grip between her fingers but kept a pinch on her shoulder, squeezing it harshly. "We will not tolerate such disobedience! We will be merciful, Granddaughter, but you will not rise so high again!," she warned. Moira squeezed Morrigan’s shoulder tightly and groaned angrily at her, “Swear it!”
Moira’s squeezing hurt Morrigan terribly as she fell to a knee at the pain and swore, “Anything you ask is yours from me, Grandmothers. I am your most loyal subject! Please forgive me! I will not soar so high again!”, she begged her mighty grandmothers on her knees.
“No, you will not!”, the Wyrd said together as all three of them reached up and pulled from the air a fine and thin golden shroud that they together cast over Morrigan. The shroud formed and bound to Morrigan like a mist over her skin and clung to her as a pall. Morrigan immediately felt weakened and tired as the mist clung to her body. “You will bear that mist until we decide you mean your vows and the words you say!”, said Moira furiously.
“How do you hide your future from my sight!? We know of your present and your past, but your future we cannot see! How have you hidden it from us, little sprite?! What were those runes you cast out?! How did you come to know that forgotten tongue, child of Dagda?! Did Danu teach you those runes?!”, the Wyrd Moira shouted at Morrigan who already was weeping in confusion.
“I do not know what you even mean, grandmothers, don’t you see all? I know no runes, nor do I know what you mean! I swear I don’t!”, she said weakly looking down to her own feet. The golden shroud sapping her will away by the moment.
Moira grew furious and whispered harshly with sparks searing Morrigan’s little ear, “Don’t be coy with us, little sprite! You know how you’re hiding your light from our sight!”
Moire frustrated, spoke out in her voice like cracking fire and said, “I think she tells the truth that she does not know.” Moire looked to Morrigan with a hard stare behind her starry eyes and stated to her, “You will not remember that we have asked you these questions, and you will not remember the shroud we have placed upon you. Go from us now to your father below! Begone!”, Moire said waving her golden hand as Morrigan fell through the Wyrd’s cloud and down fast to the pasture below.
As Morrigan tumbled from the cloud where her grandmothers watched over her, she became disoriented in the open sky. The winds whipped around her as she plummeted downward at an alarming speed. She gazed down and saw that the shimmering shroud, cast by the Wyrd Mothers over her, was fading away along with her power, dreams, and memories of what had just transpired between her and the Wyrd Mothers.
Just as Morrigan, who was now half awake under the Wyrd’s spell, succumbed to Moire's control and fell fast and uncontrolled through the sky. She fell like a meteor down, to her benefit a giant patch of golden marigolds sprouted up and caught her as she landed in a burst of light over Achad Alba, creating a cloud of shimmering pollen that spread throughout the orchard. The falling light from Moire's enchanted shroud over Morrigan was obscured by this fog of gold as it slowly vanished from sight all together and into the tumbling pollen filling the pasture.
Idunn rose up as she saw Morrigan falling fast from up high up in the starry heavens above the orchard where the court of Sidhe watched on.“What has happened, your Radiance? Did you see?”, tweeted out Idunn in a series of fast chirps, “I could not see it all for your daughter’s beautiful glow, but did she almost ascend over the Wyrd, and why did she fall so fast?!”
Dagda ignored Idunn’s series of questions and her concerned look her on her flowery face. He heaved himself up from the golden daisies he sat on with his harp Uaithne in his arms. He sprinted out from the orchard of apple trees and ran to Morrigan. Others of the court did as well, including Canta and his son Miach.
As he sprinted through the golden pollen mist and under the apple trees, all Dagda could think was, "What has happened? Is Morrigan okay?" His heart pounded in fear as he imagined what could have transpired between the Wyrd and Morrigan. "The light was blinding," he thought to himself, "I couldn't see a thing!" His mind raced as he made his way towards Morrigan, who was resting atop the golden Marigolds.
Morrigan drifted in and out of consciousness, her head swimming and a constant ringing whistled in her ears. She couldn't hear Dagda's calls as he lowered her down from the Marigolds, and she was too lost in a weightless dream to notice him holding her in his arms.
In this dream that clouded her mind, it felt like she was falling through a golden cloud, but she couldn't remember what had led her there or what she had said to the Wyrd. The only thing that lingered in her mind was a bright veil of light that brought her a fair amount of fear in her dream. She fled from the thick clouds of golden pollen in her thoughts that burned her to even think on. She fled from the dream as her eyes began to flutter open in her father’s arms.
Morrigan's eyes slowly fluttered open as she felt herself being lowered from the golden marigolds. Her head spun and there was still a faint ringing in her ears, making it difficult for her to focus. She could hear Dagda calling out to her, but it sounded distant and muffled by the ringing as she tried hard to understand the words.
As she was gently placed on the soft grass by her father's strong arms, Morrigan tried to sit up, but her body felt heavy and weak. She looked around groggily and saw Canta’s cold eyes and Miach’s kind ones standing nearby, their cunning blue faces looking down at her.
"Are you alright, my daughter?" Dagda asked with concern in his voice as he stroked Morrigan's disheveled hair.
Morrigan tried to nod in response, but her head was still spinning. She closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. Slowly, the ringing in her ears began to fade and she could hear more clearly, but a deep grogginess remained in her head.
"I think so," she croaked out hoarsely. "What happened?"
Dagda exchanged a look with his brother Canta before turning back to Morrigan. "You fell from the Wyrd's cloud," he explained gently. “Canta, you are Physician of the Sidhe, do you know what could have happened? Did you see anything transpire that I did not from my view?”
Canta from his spot behind Morrigan said, “I did not see why she fell, but only that she did.” Canta smiled a little as he asked Morrigan flatly, “Did you insult the Wyrd somehow, or did you just fly too high and trip on a root, princess? Were you trying to impress us or something?”, he said now laughing under his breath at Morrigan’s delirium.
"I don't remember falling," Morrigan said with confusion, suddenly. Her head was beginning to hurt some as she clung to it. “What was I doing before?”, she asked in her haze.
Dagda, giving his brother the worst of looks, responded before Canta could, "You were performing the Wyrd's Ascension, Little Moon." Dagda then turned to Morrigan and inquired kindly, "Do you recall what occurred? You ascended so high! It was breathtaking, but how did you end up falling down?"
Morrigan struggled to remember, but a golden mist clouded her thoughts and she couldn't recall what she was even trying to remember in the first place. "I finished my Ascension, right? But didn't we just come from the throne room? I haven't done the Rite of Ascension yet...have I?" she asked Dagda, feeling increasingly disoriented and confused.
Morrigan nodded slowly, trying to make sense of everything that had just happened. She remembered feeling happy when surrounded by the Wyrd's light, but also afraid to venture too far into it. “And then there was a dream of running away...but from what?”, she thought as she suddenly even forgot what she had even tried to just recall. “What was I just thinking about?”, she tried to remember as a small scowl crossed her face.
While Morrigan thought over what had just transpired a voice came croaking out from beyond the dark forest trees behind Morrigan and those gathered by the Marigolds observing Dagda holding his confused daughter.
Fidget, the small Fal Bolg, came bounding down from the benighted trees of the forest shouting out urgently, "My King! My King! I bear the worst news!" His voice was strained and frantic as he approached the group gathered by the giant Marigold patch. The others turned to face him, their expressions growing more concerned as Fidget continued croaking out his words.
"Your daughter, Princess Titania," Fidget gasped for breath before continuing as he arrived to stand before Dagda, "She has been stolen from our host by Aiden, son of Idunn!" He shook his head in disbelief at the betrayal of his fellow Fal Bolg. “We all tried our best to stop him, but we are but shades to his silver light, my King! He swept your daughter away with promises of riding the Unicorns! A dastardly plot he came up with after being charmed by your daughter’s beauty when she took his hand before, no doubt!”, Fidget croaked, shaking his head in shame over Aiden’s betrayal.
Dagda’s expression darkened as he listened to Fidget's words, and he had ordered Uaithne to silence with promises of tickles and a good tuning. Dagda knew Aiden well, and had thought him to be a loyal member of his court as his mother Idunn had become, “I see the Wyrd’s hands in this.”, he grumbled low before he adverted his eyes to the little toad Fidget who dabbed his eyes with an apple leaf he had torn from an unsuspecting tree to remove his feigned tears.
"And what of the unicorns?", The Sidhe King asked with a cold edge to his voice. “Where did he take my daughter with the Unicorns you say he’s stolen?”, Dagda asked the Fal Bolg Fidget with his voice taking on an icy edge. The breath of all present and standing near Dagda could be clearly seen as his rage became an icy chill in the air around him. “Where is my daughter, Imp!?”, Dagda shouted as ice began to form from Fidget’s running rose.
“Aiden, my King, he ran off and retreated west from here! I think he means to hide in the darkness of the woods beyond the citadel! I have my men out looking still, my King! Only I bear the news!”, Fidget said as Uaithne tried vibrating in Dagda’s keeping, but Dagda held Uaithne silent for fear his mothers would hear its false notes and scold him for letting Titania damage Uaithne. Dagda never knew that Fidget lied about everything as Uaithne sat silent next to him.
Canta let out a hearty laugh, “I see glimpses of Danu in your daughters, Dagda. They certainly know how to stir up trouble at court.”, he laughed as he moved to join Fidget.
Dagda looked over from where he was kneeling beside Morrigan who listened in silence and disbelief that her sister had been kidnapped. Dagda snapped back, “Shut up, Canta! Do your duty and go seek my daughter in the forest!”, Dagda commanded as his eyes glowed a bright gold in his fury. “Bring me Aiden alive!”, Dagda also commanded. “I will question the boy!”, said Dagda as he turned back to Morrigan and picked her up from the grass into his arms as he stood up.
“Danu would be proud of them is all I meant! They certainly aren’t boring your daughters! Take no offence, Brother Dagda!”, Canta exclaimed with amusement before turning his icy gaze onto Fidget. “Imp!”, he barked with authority, “Come with me, little Fal Bolg! We will search for our missing Princess together, and we may come across Balor as well to join us. He'll definitely want to hear what you have to tell us. He may even be the most concerned about the unicorns and our fair Princess being missing,” Canta added with a dark humor in his voice as he turned away and marched off into the dark trees.
Dagda gave Canta a scathing look, but his brother was already strolling away towards the shadowy trees and didn't see Dagda's disapproval. Canta's son, Miach, approached Dagda as he made his way to the forest with Fidget and his father. Miach paused when he saw Morrigan looking up at him with her striking silver eyes; she seemed more Fal Bolg than Tuatha now looking at him, stripped of some of her glow.
Miach looked at Morrigan with pity as her light faded around her, but her eyes sparkled in the harsh light of Dagda's anger, and she alone seemed spared from the cold wrath pouring off of Dagda. Miach himself stood a few steps away from Morrigan and King Dagda, trying to keep himself from shivering in fear at Dagda’s freezing glare.
“We will find your daughter Titania, my king! We won’t fail you!”, Miach swore as he knelt to his king. “Please keep our Princess Morrigan safe in your keeping, Sire. She is a marvel with her brilliant shine. I am certain she’s a blessing from Akash to us all!”, Miach claimed on his knee before Dagda who was losing his patience holding Morrigan and listening to flowery words.
King Dagda barked at the Miach kneeling before him, “Save your pretty words and find my daughter! Get up and get out of my sight until you find her!”, Dagda commanded as he lost his temper.
Morrigan placed a hand on her father’s chest softly and said with a kind smile that she used on both Miach and her father, “He’s only trying to help, father. Don’t be cross with him. They will find Titania. I am sure she is only playing a game with Aiden and the unicorn, Father. You know she loves to play little games.”
Dagda softened with Morrigan’s words and her touch. He nodded at her with a weak smile as he said to her, “I am certain you are right, Little Moon. You are usually right in these matters with your sister.”, Dagda said as he kissed his daughter’s forehead sweetly.
King Dagda shifted his gaze back to Miach, who remained on his knees with a troubled expression. Speaking in a regal and benevolent tone, Dagda said, "I am grateful for your help, Miach. You are a good man. Please locate my lost Titania in the forest and bring her safely back home."
Miach stood up, his stance as rigid and disciplined as a soldier's. He responded to Dagda with determination, "I will do it, my king. I swear." Miach smiled at Morrigan, who was in her father's arms. He bowed respectfully to them both before running after his father through the shadows of the trees.
Fidget felt a sense of satisfaction as he followed Canta through the dark trees. “This is going so well! Easier than I even anticipated it being! Uaithne didn’t even sing my words away!”, Fidget thought happily to himself as he hopped after Canta ahead of him. His plan was working perfectly – he had successfully gotten Dagda and the others to go after Aiden, leaving him free to search for Titania on his own soon. He couldn't wait to get his hands on her and take her back to Dagda, who would surely reward him handsomely for his loyalty. “This will teach that prick Aiden from kicking me and always treating me like garbage, and that glowy bitch from stomping on me!”, he thought to himself under his greasy smile.
As they walked deeper into the woods, Fidget couldn't help but grin at the thought of their inevitable reunion with Aiden. “Oh that pretty boy is going to be much less pretty soon!”, he thought as his lips continued curling up and up at his excitement. “He might even be uglier than me after Balor skins him.”, he laughed a quiet laugh to himself as he hopped along. He hoped that the boy would put up a good fight when Balor did skin the boy – it would make things all the more interesting.
Suddenly, Canta came to a halt and turned to face the Imp Fidget. "Imp," he growled, "You know these woods better than most, lead on!"
Fidget scrambled up and over a large rock, eager to obey Canta's command to hurry. He awkwardly bowed as he passed by his Lord, leading him through the dense woods. As he ran, Fidget nearly tripped over a tree root that seemed to lift itself up in an attempt to trip him. Fidget had once angrily sheared off all of this particular tree’s leaves when he was upset with Idunn one day, but later regretted it and only cleaned up the front of the tree so she wouldn't notice his outburst, but Fidget had left the back clean of leaves so this tree would shiver in the breeze. Many of the trees in Idunn’s forest shared similar stories, and the whole wood took part in the delight of the small revenge of trying to trip Fidget as he passed by.
The tree glimmered with a fierce determination to seek revenge against the terrible imp. Fidget watched as a branch lifted itself and he effortlessly leaped over it, a sly grin on his face as he yelled out to Canta, "Don't worry, my Lord Canta! I will locate this thief, this villain who mistreats Unicorns and steals Princesses! We Fal Bolg will ensure that he is found for you. Please do not lose even a single strand of your magnificent beard over it, my Lord!"
Canta looked at Fidget uninterested as he trailed behind, idly inspecting his long sharp nails that resembled claws. "Just finish it already, Imp!" he barked out in a semi-impatient tone before stretching his arms behind him and yawning. "This better not take too long, or that pesky thief Aiden will face my anger instead of Dagda or Balor’s," he chuckled to himself before calling out to Fidget once more: "Hurry up!"
Fidget scampered ahead, his short legs carrying him swiftly through the thick underbrush of the forest. He could hear Canta's voice growing distant behind him as the Lord grew impatient with his slow pace. Fidget grinned to himself, knowing that he was only pretending to take his time in order to annoy Canta. Oh, how he loved to vex and irritate the serious and powerful Physician of the Wyrd when there was an occasion to do so.
Fidget hopped along at a leisurely pace, pretending to be in a hurry. He wore a greasy smile and his eyes gleamed with cruel joy as he thought of finding Aiden. He began bounding happily over rocks and dodging gleaming roots that seemed to rise up and try to trip him on purpose, Fidget's one goal was to find Aiden and the runaway Titania in the darkness beyond, but not before seeking out Balor!
Fidget moved slowly, still pretending to rush as he bounded over the roots that obstructed his path. His smile was covered in its usual grease and his eyes gleamed bright with their cruel joy as he thought, "I'm on my way, Aiden. We'll find you soon!" He grinned as he easily leapt over another root that seemed to shine in the darkness trying to trip the bounding Fidget off guard, but Fidget looked ahead sharply for the missing Titania and the Unicorn beyond in the darkness. He noticed the sparkling light of the roots moving and easily dodged their trying to trip him again. “This will be so simple now. Juicy like a berry even!”, he drooled as he guided Canta through the dark of the forest in their pursuit of the lost Unicorn.
*****
Dagda watched Miach run away from him and into the darkness. Dagda turned and looked up at the Wyrd above in suspicion and disgust. “I know they did something, but I don’t know what they did to my Little Moon!”, he thought furiously as he looked to the heavens scowling. As Dagda stood there scowling, Idunn and another from the court, Bartabus, an emissary of the Femorians of Mag Itha, approached him from the shining Orchard.
Idunn's face was filled with fear and confusion as she turned to the enraged king. "What has happened? Why did everyone run into the woods, and why did that imp accuse my son Aiden of stealing the Unicorns? He would never do such a thing!" She shouted out in defense of her son, her voice buzzing with worry. "He would never disrespect the court or the Wyrd like that, my King! I swear it on my loyalty to you both!" She protested loudly and fiercely.
Dagda turned to face Idunn and Bartabus, his expression still filled with anger. "Aye, that imp did indeed claim that Aiden stole the Unicorns," he growled out, his voice rumbling like thunder. "But I do not believe it for a second," he added after a moment of thought. “This is someone’s plot, I think”, he whispered as he raised his eyes up in suspicion of the Wyrd who remained oddly silent.
Idunn noticed Dagda's distrustful gaze and gave a subtle nod in response. "If it pleases you, my King, may I depart from your presence to assist in the search for my son?" she asked with a hint of irritation, but coupled with respect as she also bowed slightly out of deference.
Bartabus, who had been standing behind Idunn, stepped forward to join the conversation. He was unremarkable in his dark green robes of moss. The most notable feature of Bartabus was his long and elegant beard. Each strand of his flowing and braided beard was a different type of precious stone, and his every movement cast rainbows around him from his spectacular beard.
Bartabus spoke in a low, gravelly voice reminiscent of old stones. "We need to locate Aiden and prove his innocence," he suggested calmly. "He's our most skilled tracker, and I believe he will be able to find the missing Unicorns, and more to the point I don’t believe he’s stolen them!”, he said stroking his marvelous beard, “I have crossed paths with the boy before, and I do not believe he is a radical. He is a kind and good person, if that helps ease any concerns." Bartabus ended his words with a respectful nod towards Idunn, who smiled at him in gratitude for defending her son.
“Thank you, old friend.”, Idunn chirped with her own respectful bow and a friendly smile before she turned her eyes back to Dagda who still glowered up at the Wyrd silently fuming at them for the all the meddling they had ever done to him as he held a now unconscious Morrigan in his arms.
Idunn, impatient with the king asked again, “My king, may I be dismissed to join the search? Please!”, Idunn crowed out like a furious hen.
Dagda's voice boomed through the trees as he shouted, "Go then!" His anger was evident in the swaying branches. "Find him and bring him to me! Prove your loyalty to me!" He glowered at her with a fierce scowl. “Prove you’re still my friend, Idunn!”
Idunn bowed low in respect along with the grass around her as she faded into it to join with the roots and the soil of Tir Na n?g itself in pursuit of Titania and her son in her dark woods. “I will find both our children and bring them both before you, Your Radiance. You’ve my word on it, my dear friend.,” Idunn chirped as she faded into the grass and her voice became the whispering of the wind in Dagda’s ear.
Bartabus trembled with nervousness as the events unfolded before him. His jeweled beard shone in the light of Dagda's flames, creating a colorful dance around him with each shiver. The king's anger was palpable and Bartabus felt uncomfortable just standing there. He cleared his throat and suggested, "If you would like, My King, I can take the child to a safe room in the palace for you." He looked towards the direction where Canta and the others had gone and added, "Perhaps you would like to join the search yourself?" He bowed his head respectfully towards Dagda, who was still seething with fury.
Dagda gave the plain looking Femorian a sharp glare, but his expression softened as he turned to Bartabus. Dagda was well aware of the old man's kindness; many at court had been helped by him in some way or another. With a nod of his head, Dagda spoke in his kingly and diplomatic tone, "Thank you, Bartabus. Your presence is invaluable to my court." He handed over the sleeping Morrigan to Bartabus and added, "Please ensure that no one disturbs her while she rests."
Dagda then surveyed the grove, he noticed everyone watching him and the scene unfolding from behind every orchard tree. Even the Wyrd, who were unusually quiet, had their eyes fixed on him. Their piercing gazes only fueled his anger, but he managed to remain composed. “Many will want to examine her and her gifts after that odd display, and I do not want them touching her.”, Dagda growled low through his teeth as he felt the eyes of the Wyrd on his back.
Bartabus lowered his head, causing rainbows to dance across his moss-covered robes. He spoke softly and respectfully in a deep rumble, "I will personally seal the entrance to her chambers, Radiance. Your child will not be disturbed, My King."
Dagda, standing before Bartabus, thanked him with royal kindness. Dagda then lit himself by a halo of golden light, Dagda then lifted himself high into the sky and soared above the forest, searching for his daughter in the darkness of its trees.
Bartabus, now less nervous that Dagda had flown off into the forest with his oddly silent harp. Bartabus ceased his false shivering and shaking. As he held Morrigan in his arms he looked at her with a small and fatherly sort of smile and said in his gravelly whisper,“You two daughters of Dagda truly do take after your mother, don’t you? You both, like Danu, love a good and memorable entrance into court!”, he laughed his gravelly laugh. “I suppose we’re off to find a room then.”, he said smiling under his glittering beard as he said to the sleeping Morrigan, “Let’s be off then, shall we?”
Bartabus adjusted Morrigan in his arms so she was somewhat easier to manage as he carried out into the glittering orchard of Achad Alba. He would find her a room to lay in while he found out what made the Wyrd grab the girl. He was curious what the old hags had up their golden sleeves this time, and Morrigan was Bartabus’s best clue.
A smile crept onto his face, hidden beneath the jewels of his beard. "They can't deceive me," he thought to himself. "I saw them take the girl from the sky, but why?" He promised himself that he would ask her when she regained consciousness, before anyone else could get to her. With a sly grin, concealed by his bejeweled beard, he made his way towards the citadel and to a private room where he could wait for Morrigan to awaken from her sleep.
