"Come now little ones! Gather around your Seolta and hear the history of our people." The old man adjusts his waistcoat and places his chair closer to the fire. The golden light of the flames dance upon the walls of the gypsy wagons, making the open field feel like a cozy room. The last child to join the group toddles over and touches his knee.
"Papan, lap! Dragons, Papan, dragons!" Seolta lifts the child and cradles him close.
"Do you wish to hear of dragons, Elhannan?" His question ignites an affirmative eruption from all of the children. A brilliant smile illuminates his coarse, but kind face in response. "Very well. So it shall be. Calm now, sit, and we shall begin."
True to his decades as a story teller, the aging historian allows silence to fully settle upon the scene. He runs a hand through his silvering hair and narrows his dark eyes as if recalling a faint memory. The children all lean in closer, subconsciously pushing all of their will and energy toward him in joint effort to bring the story out. Sighing, at long last, and raising his hand out over the crowd of shining, dirty faces, he begins to weave his tale.
"When our world, Froa, was brand new, and Uan's work of creation complete, all people lived peacefully together on the continent under the kind and gentle guidance of the Cumhnant. The priests, known as the Sagart, and the now long extinct priestess, or Gaidheal, taught all people from the knowledge and wisdom given to them by Uan himself. The world was happy and full of goodness. There was always plenty of rain, and sunshine, and food to eat. It was to this world that the first dragon was born.
Elhannan, the ancient Sagart after whom my grandson is named, found the egg on the beach far below the cliffs behind the holy city of Rhuidean. He had been looking out to the water from above when the thing had caught his eye. At first, he believed it to be some enormous jewel tossed up from the sea. It glistened and glowed from within in a shade of blue and green that could hardly be described by my common tongue. There were no steps to the sand at that time, so the priest gathered up ropes, tied them to a stake he drove into the ground, and climbed carefully down to the treasure below.
It was the same shape as any other egg you would imagine, and aside from the glowing and the color and the size, it was exactly what you would think an egg to be. Elhannan, recognizing that it was indeed an egg, then began searching the cliff line of the cove for a nest... or very large mother... to return the unborn offspring to its rightful place. Though he searched until the sun began to set, climbing about the rocks like a spider, he could find no trace of anything or anyone that might belong to the egg. He knew he could not abandon the helpless creature within, so he decided to take it back with him to the city above and care for it until it hatched and could care for itself.
However, the moment he placed his bare hands upon the shell of the egg, an amazing thing happened! A surging of energy flowed through him and latched him to the egg. His hearing increased to the point that he could hear not only the beating of the heart within the egg, but also the speech of the people walking around above him. His vision blurred, but only for a moment. He squeezed his eyes shut. When he opened them again, he staggered and fell to his knees. He could see every stone and pebble, he could count the feathers on a gull that flew high among the clouds. 'What is happening to me?' He asked aloud. From inside the egg, a small, metallic voice entered his mind.
'We are becoming one. We will never be separated, not even in death. We are the first. We are the gift and the gifted.'
After what seemed an eternity to Elhannan, the energy released him and he became comfortable enough in his new abilities to strap the egg to himself and climb back up the cliff. He shared what had happened with the Cumhnant immediately and all agreed that this was a gift from Uan to be honored and cared for. They designed and began work on a new Dragon Gate at the rear of the city, complete with stalls for the care and keeping of young, a well for water, and multiple drains that could send waste out to the cliffs and the sea.
When the time came for the hatchling to be born, Elhannan brought the egg out and placed it on a great stage for all to see. A thousand candles were lit around the stage and a grand feast was prepared, as people gathered from every part of the continent to witness the momentous birth. He stayed with the egg, night and day, never leaving it once the first shudders began. He could hear the young one's egg tooth scraping and tapping against the interior. The anticipation thudded in his chest until he felt he would come apart and fall into nothingness.
For two days and nights, the process wore on. Elhannan grew weary. As the dawn approached, the hatchling, with one last, valiant effort, slammed his head upward against the shell and... crack... crack... CRACK! It was free! Those that were set for the watch awakened the crowds. Its tender, blue scales shimmered in the candlelight. Kicking away the remnants of shell, it spread elegant wings skyward and sat back upon already muscled haunches. Elhannan drew near. The dragon nuzzled his torso with its head, then, blinking in the light, gazed up at him. Its eyes were the same deep, indescribable shade that its shell had been. As the people joined the scene, the priest and his dragon embraced.
'What shall I call you?' He asked. The answer came in the same way as before... as a sound in his mind that only he could hear.
'I am Cheadcheann, the first one.'
From that day on, Elhannan and Cheadcheann were inseparable. They had many adventures and grew in knowledge and wisdom together. All that they learned, they shared with others. When they were both exceptionally old and ready to pass from this world into the next, they made arrangements to have themselves lowered back down to the same spot on the beach below the cliffs were they had first met. There they lay close together for a day and a night. At last, when dawn came and burst upon the sky like a spilling of honey and rose water, they died. Their final breaths mingled and drifted away as their bodies fell into a sparkling dust that scattered upon the next passing wind. In the place where Cheadcheann had lain, five shimmering, glowing eggs sat perched in the sand."
"Papan, lap! Dragons, Papan, dragons!" Seolta lifts the child and cradles him close.
"Do you wish to hear of dragons, Elhannan?" His question ignites an affirmative eruption from all of the children. A brilliant smile illuminates his coarse, but kind face in response. "Very well. So it shall be. Calm now, sit, and we shall begin."
True to his decades as a story teller, the aging historian allows silence to fully settle upon the scene. He runs a hand through his silvering hair and narrows his dark eyes as if recalling a faint memory. The children all lean in closer, subconsciously pushing all of their will and energy toward him in joint effort to bring the story out. Sighing, at long last, and raising his hand out over the crowd of shining, dirty faces, he begins to weave his tale.
"When our world, Froa, was brand new, and Uan's work of creation complete, all people lived peacefully together on the continent under the kind and gentle guidance of the Cumhnant. The priests, known as the Sagart, and the now long extinct priestess, or Gaidheal, taught all people from the knowledge and wisdom given to them by Uan himself. The world was happy and full of goodness. There was always plenty of rain, and sunshine, and food to eat. It was to this world that the first dragon was born.
Elhannan, the ancient Sagart after whom my grandson is named, found the egg on the beach far below the cliffs behind the holy city of Rhuidean. He had been looking out to the water from above when the thing had caught his eye. At first, he believed it to be some enormous jewel tossed up from the sea. It glistened and glowed from within in a shade of blue and green that could hardly be described by my common tongue. There were no steps to the sand at that time, so the priest gathered up ropes, tied them to a stake he drove into the ground, and climbed carefully down to the treasure below.
It was the same shape as any other egg you would imagine, and aside from the glowing and the color and the size, it was exactly what you would think an egg to be. Elhannan, recognizing that it was indeed an egg, then began searching the cliff line of the cove for a nest... or very large mother... to return the unborn offspring to its rightful place. Though he searched until the sun began to set, climbing about the rocks like a spider, he could find no trace of anything or anyone that might belong to the egg. He knew he could not abandon the helpless creature within, so he decided to take it back with him to the city above and care for it until it hatched and could care for itself.
However, the moment he placed his bare hands upon the shell of the egg, an amazing thing happened! A surging of energy flowed through him and latched him to the egg. His hearing increased to the point that he could hear not only the beating of the heart within the egg, but also the speech of the people walking around above him. His vision blurred, but only for a moment. He squeezed his eyes shut. When he opened them again, he staggered and fell to his knees. He could see every stone and pebble, he could count the feathers on a gull that flew high among the clouds. 'What is happening to me?' He asked aloud. From inside the egg, a small, metallic voice entered his mind.
'We are becoming one. We will never be separated, not even in death. We are the first. We are the gift and the gifted.'
After what seemed an eternity to Elhannan, the energy released him and he became comfortable enough in his new abilities to strap the egg to himself and climb back up the cliff. He shared what had happened with the Cumhnant immediately and all agreed that this was a gift from Uan to be honored and cared for. They designed and began work on a new Dragon Gate at the rear of the city, complete with stalls for the care and keeping of young, a well for water, and multiple drains that could send waste out to the cliffs and the sea.
When the time came for the hatchling to be born, Elhannan brought the egg out and placed it on a great stage for all to see. A thousand candles were lit around the stage and a grand feast was prepared, as people gathered from every part of the continent to witness the momentous birth. He stayed with the egg, night and day, never leaving it once the first shudders began. He could hear the young one's egg tooth scraping and tapping against the interior. The anticipation thudded in his chest until he felt he would come apart and fall into nothingness.
For two days and nights, the process wore on. Elhannan grew weary. As the dawn approached, the hatchling, with one last, valiant effort, slammed his head upward against the shell and... crack... crack... CRACK! It was free! Those that were set for the watch awakened the crowds. Its tender, blue scales shimmered in the candlelight. Kicking away the remnants of shell, it spread elegant wings skyward and sat back upon already muscled haunches. Elhannan drew near. The dragon nuzzled his torso with its head, then, blinking in the light, gazed up at him. Its eyes were the same deep, indescribable shade that its shell had been. As the people joined the scene, the priest and his dragon embraced.
'What shall I call you?' He asked. The answer came in the same way as before... as a sound in his mind that only he could hear.
'I am Cheadcheann, the first one.'
From that day on, Elhannan and Cheadcheann were inseparable. They had many adventures and grew in knowledge and wisdom together. All that they learned, they shared with others. When they were both exceptionally old and ready to pass from this world into the next, they made arrangements to have themselves lowered back down to the same spot on the beach below the cliffs were they had first met. There they lay close together for a day and a night. At last, when dawn came and burst upon the sky like a spilling of honey and rose water, they died. Their final breaths mingled and drifted away as their bodies fell into a sparkling dust that scattered upon the next passing wind. In the place where Cheadcheann had lain, five shimmering, glowing eggs sat perched in the sand."
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