THE DRUID

The Druid of Locherbith

OF LOCHERBITH
IN ANCIENT Celtic times, the land
was filled with Druid and the ways of
magic.
The Banshee and Pouka played a
role in everyday life, and the hills were
alive with fairies and leprechauns.
The life of the Celt in those days
is portrayed in tales that are still told
by the country folk today. The Druid of
Locherbith binds together a collection
of myths and legends… legends that
many believe are based in part on ages
old truths…
Follow the life of a young Druidess,
her family and traditions, as she comes
of age and her people face the unique

Maggie Kelley and J.P. Ronan

perils of those ancient times, Learn
about the ages old secrets of the Celtic
people in this meticulously researched
and wonderfully illustrated tome!

ISBN 1-58898-204-1
90000>
Maggie Kelley
and
9 781588 982049
J.P. Ronan
 Druid of Locherbith

Maggie Kelley and J.P.Ronan

greatunpublished.com
Title No. 204
2003

Copyright © 2003 Maggie Kelley and J.P. Ronan

All rights reserved.

ISBN 1-58898-204-1
 Introduction

In ancient Celtic times, the land was filled with Druid and
the ways of magic. The Banshee, and Pouka played a role in
everyday life. The hills were alive with fairies and Leprechauns.
The life of the Celt in those days is portrayed in the tales
that are told by the country folk yet today. This novel binds
together a collection of myths and legends that are held to be
based in truth.
 The life of a Druidess is followed. Her family and their
traditions are imparted to the reader as a young Druid comes
of age. Her Celtic homeland is an island that faces the perils of
those times.
Acknowledgement

To the artists who’s labors cannot be measured in hours only.

This novel contains much effort based in a love and joy for
the Celtic ways. Illustrated by M.X. McDonald, <mxm7@zoo
mnet.com>,Celtic Knots by Howard Oliver. <howard@celtic-
clipart.co.uk>
 LOCI
Cliath: an ancient capital city of the Chead

Dano: a great river in the land of the Emor

Drudec: city port on upper Dano in the land of Emor

Estara: nation of the north from which raiders set sail

Galatia: ocean port at mouth of the river Dano in the land

Emor

Holy Grove: a gathering place for Druid life and practice

Lake Locherbith: Muira’s home

Lake Lockerbith: hidden water that is home to the Celtic

goddess Maeve

Lasi: city port at middle of the river Dano in the land Emor

Tsaro: a secondary river in the land of the Emor

 PERSONAE

Almidah: queen of the Emor Empire

Anta: princess from the northwest frontier of the mainland

Arianrhod: Celtic goddess of birth

Bard: a person trained in music and telling of tales

Banshee: a malevolent spirit that appears in the form of an old

woman whom also takes the form as a Pouka

Barnabas: a master Druid

Boan: Celtic goddess of rivers

Brid: younger brother to Muira

Brogan: daughter of the king of the Giollabhain

Cavan: grandson to Muira; adopted son of Rialta; son to Eta

and Paolo

Ceol: son and fifth born to Muira

Chead: the name of the dominant Celtic population of a Celtic

island

Creidhne: Celtic god of metal making

Doan: a maid in the court of Queen Almidah; Oiche’s first wife
Doar: son and second born to Muira who died soon after birth
Druid: any one belonging to a secret society that values learning
and knowledge
Drummond: king of the Chead
Dunbar: prince of the Cetura nation east of Emor; father to
Paolo
Durin: a military commander of the Emor
Egan: husband to Muira; father of, Oiche, Daor, Leigh, Rialta,
Ceol and Fergus
Emor: a powerful and growing empire on the mainland
Eta: the spirit of the lake Maeve’s daughter
Fergus: son and sixth born to Muira
Giddeon: council to Almidah
Giol: wandering warrior and human husband of the goddess
Maeve; father to Eta
Giollabhain: a small Celtic population that lives separately in
the isolated east section of the island
Hugh Mhor: king of the fairy people
Kendal: prince of the Land called Estara; north of Emor
Empire
Leigh: son and the third born to Muira
Linius: a member of King Mohl’s council
Lunn: second son to Almidah
Mab: a spirit of the enchanted forest of the Giollabhain
Madra: Cavan’s pet dog
Maeve: Celtic goddess and mother of the island of Mahr
Mairg: mother to Muira
Mario: brother to Almidah and chief council
McElwain: one clan of the Giollabhain
Mea: Cavan’s sister and Mairg’s younger daughter
Mohl: king of the Emor, and first husband to Almidah
Monty: a spirit of the enchanted forest of the Giollabhain
Muira: Druid priestess of the Giollabhain: mother to Oiche,
Daor, Leigh, Rialta, Ceol and Fergus; grandmother to Cavan
Muther: mother
Nordes: a nation of people that live to very distant north of
Mahr
Oiche: son and first born of Muira
Olga: daughter of Almidah and princess of the Emor
Ornan: spy sent to isle of Mahr by the Emor
Owen: Mairg’s husband and Muira’s son in law
Phelan: cousin to Almidah, and advisor

Poalo: son to Almidah and heir to her thrown

Pouka: an animal form of the Banshee that walks the earth

Quigley: a spirit of the enchanted forest of the Giollabhain

Ree: Cavan’s sister and Rialta’s older daughter

Rialta: only daughter and fourth born to Muira

Roule: royal visitor to Almidah’s Court

Shishi: a cow belonging to Egan

Soweta: a dark Druidess from the very distant south; wife to

Oiche

Tarbh: Celtic god of fertility

Torin: younger brother to Egan

To the victims of the great Irish potato famine
 CHAPTER I
An áit a bhfuil do chroi is ann a thabhar fas do chosa thú.
Your feet will bring you to where your heart is.

It was a cool morn with heavy dew. The full sun, bright and
golden round has just lifted above the distant hills. The light of
the early day sweeps down the meadows, through the fields of
crops and enters through the cracks of the closed side portal of
a small cottage near the hidden lake of Locherbith.
As the first beams of daylight scatter inside the hut, some
fall on the carved wooden table and chairs in the center, while
others dot the opposite inside wall of white plaster among the
baskets and crocks held by wooden plank shelves. The sun’s rays
glimmer on the white hair of an elderly woman busying her self
 4 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
in the kitchen. Her attention is on the iron skillet and the wild
berry tarts warming over a small wood burning fire. She gently
hums to herself as she prepares for the arrival of her grandson,
Cavan. This is to be the time that she shall reveal to him all the
happenings of Mahr. He is to stay for the whole of the night.
“These are dun. I’ll let them cool on the window’s ledge
now,” she says to herself.
She sits three tarts neatly around inside a wide bowl, opens
the shutters and sets her work to cool upon the sill. Outside the
window a crow flies to a nearby tree.
“This linen piece will cover the bowl nicely, they’ll stay
fresh the entire morn. If one of those crows comes about these
tarts I’ll be serving meat pie this night, I will!” She gazes out
her window, passed the garden’s wall, and up along the lane that
winds through the green fields some distance to the top of the
rise.
“Over a great number of warm seasons my eyes have never
had such a pleasure as this one morning.”
The cattle are just moving out of the shadows to begin
feeding under the warmth of the sun. The birds are already
working through the fields of hay and barley in search of
breakfast. The mist is rising off the water in the streams.
Muira’s eyes catch site of the family cairn in the shade of
the trees off to the right behind her home. She recalls the day
that they placed her dear husband’s remains there. She recalls
the way Egan would tenderly stroke her cheek with his strong
hand and how his gentle affection was never kept from her. The
man never lost his fine self.
“Egan, how you loved this land. How proud of your children
you were, how proud you would be seeing our grandchildren
grow into the fine men and women they have become.”
She recalled the fullness of the life they had shared together
and then sighs with a heart full of longing and joy. She thought
of how in her next life she would share with her love, Egan. She
recalls her infant babies who grew up in this old home and the
laughter her family shared here even during the most trying of
times.
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 5
“The music, oh, the music would fill the place for hours
some nights when Ceol played his strings. How the children
loved to see their muther dance with their father, the two of us
were really good at kicking up our heels!” Much of her days now
are now filled with memories and on her children’s own young
ones.
Just as she is about to resume her chores, the motion of a
lone figure moves down the dirt path along the garden wall. For
a time Muira watches the easy, almost familiar long strides of
her grandson approaching.
“And sure, he has the same walk as his grandfather about
him,” she says to herself.
She watches him as he approaches the cottage. His dark
hair and eyes show from afar. Over his shoulder hangs a bag that
Rialta, his muther prepared.
She recalls when Cavan was a baby like it was yesterday. He
was not given to fuss even as a newborn. Cavan sat quietly while
on his muther’s lap while she would be sewing or preparing a
meal. His mind was always on something, an insect crawling on
the windowsill, a bird circling high in the sky. He could never
seem to take his eyes off the birds. They were of special interest
to him. Cavan’s muther, said that while pregnant, she notice
there was an over abundance of birds about her place. They
would chatter on non-stop. Cavan lived in more than one world
even before he was born.
But it was one day, when Cavan was out in my garden; he
seemed to be communicating with the birds. Muira followed
Rialta who was cooking that day. That’s when they suddenly
were struck by the loud sound of fluttering and chirping birds.
Rialta looked outside the window, disbelieving what she was
seeing.
“My boy,” she muttered under her breath. She quickly
grabbed a skillet and ran out the door. Muira looked out the
window and saw hundreds of birds of all kinds, fluttering
around Cavan thick as the early fog. His muther moved with
such ferocity, such never seen by Muira. Rialta feared those
birds would pluck him clean from this earth. She shrieked
 6 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
loudly at the birds and flung the pan this way and that. Muira
could very much see the warrior in her daughter. But the birds
were not daft. They were gone in a moment’s notice. After
the cloud of birds lifted, he smiled at his muther holding up
a single white feather. His muther then dropped the pan and
scooped him up in her arms sobbing like a baby herself. Muira
couldn’t believe her eyes, never had she seen such a sight, but
there Cavan sat, acting as if the spirits came down and kissed
him on the forehead. After that, Muira told her daughter, since
there were no black birds in the swarm, that this was surely a
favorable sign from the deity of the birds, Agnus Mac Og. It
was then that Muira knew that out of all of her grandchildren,
Cavan was special, and chosen by the spirits of the land.
“He will have my place soon enough, he was born to it,
that’s for sure,” she said to herself as she moved to the door to
receive her young charge.
“Many blessings on this house and all who dwell here!”
Calls out the boy.
Muira laughs at the sound of her grandson’s voice braking
from a child to a man.
“A thousand welcomes to you, and all the more for the fine
man of your muther and father that you are,” she says as she
embraces him.
She grabs hold of him by his arms and beholds the youth
with dark hair gathered at the back, and one thin braid hanging
down the cheek in the present fashion of a man. He is dressed in
a beige linen tunic with borders of green about the sleeves, and
at the bottom. He wears leather sandals and a horse’s hair belt
with an iron cinch at the waist.
“You muther dressed you fine this day, Cavan. It’s a fine
look of a man you are, your father’s son for sure!”
For all the size of man he has now become, he is still every
bit of his grandmuther’s darling baby boy. Muira holds back her
tears that are still meant for a small bit of a child.
“It’s good to see you, Mame. Muther sent some things
meant just for you”. Cavan hands his grandmuther a linen sack
containing several small crocks. Some honey, some rhubarb jam,
and sweet potatoes from Rialta’s garden are welcomed.
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 7
“Muther says you are not to give these out but to keep
them for your own.”
“Right you are lad. Your grandmuther will share these with
you this very day, as the good weather will be keeping for some
time says the birds. They’re busy about, building their nests, no
sign of bad weather to come as sure as that.”
Cavan sits at the table across from his grandmuther.
“Cavan, I’ve your favorite, berry tarts with some fresh milk
and honey. Are you up for a bit of refreshment?” She smiles to
see her baby boy’s eyes widen as he searches directly over to the
window’s edge for his treat.
“Mame, I’m a bit dun in as I ran a far piece of the way, cause
something gave me a scare this morning.”
Any fear in the boy is lost in his relish of the goods on ‘s
breakfast table, and with the quenching of his thirst.
“May I have some more to drink Mame, please?”
“Of course, Cavan, what would frighten such a strong lad
as yourself?”
“Da sent me out at first light. Just as I was close to your
place, I saw something in the sky. Two big black birds flying and
fussing most unusual like. Something flashed in my mind’s eye
and gave me to get away from there.”
“You’re safe here son, enjoy your meal, will deal with this
sight of yours in a bit.” The tarts are placed to the boy’s front
and a cool bowl of milk set as well.
Through sips and sighs of much delight the boy finishes his
meal, concern about his vision continues. He rises up to help
her clear the dishes.
“I’ll tell you son, such visions will return. There is a
powerful and constant force that is always about, Cavan. The
clans will be in great need of your skills with the spirit world.
Although I will be soon traveling to the other world, I will
always be with you. Turn around!”
He looks into the blue eyes of his grandmuther still full of
light.
“But Mame, I have yet to earn my Druid collar.”
She turns him around so that his back is to her. He feels the
 8 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
weight of a golden torc around his neck and touches it gently
with his finger’s tips. He turns back around and meets the eyes
of his grandmuther, the woman whom he has long admired and
respected. She wears the white linen robes that his muther
made and her white hair frames her face. She is decorated in
jewelry; her Druid’s collar and gold bangles dangle about her
wrist. He remembers how he would hold her hand at the market
when he was younger. He can see that she was once beautiful, as
she yet remains.
“Wear this and I will be with you always. Come on now!
No looking to sadness. Come with me to the oak grove. I have
many things to tell you.”
Cavan eagerly follows her out the door of her hut, and they
head toward the woods.
“Will we see any wee people, Mame?”
“The wee people are as elusive as the wind in the trees. You
must remember that they can be unpredictable and that most
prefer to play tricks and cause mischief for their amusement.”
She walks up the hill and looks over the village and her
heart swells with pride. She muses to herself, that her grandson
Cavan, who now stands tall at her side, will surely come to feel
this way too. Over the gently rolling hills she views the crops
and cattle grazing lazily, people going about their daily chores,
and the growing number of cottages in the distance. The calm
of the place overwhelms her. This place that has seen much
despair and hardship, once again is flourishing.
“What is it Mame?”
“Cavan, look at this land. It is beautiful and it is free, we
have pledged our hard work to keep it this way. We must protect
it with every force that may pass out of our being.”
“Yes Mame”
In the woods, the wind rustles the leaves of the trees as they
near a clearing. They walk in the direction of an adjoining hill,
in which great stones are placed in a circle. In the center two
large stones lay flat upon the ground. The birds chirp noisily and
the sun fills the ground with a warm white light.
“Sit on that stone Cavan.” She gestures to the opposite
rock as she takes a seat her self.
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 9
“Look up in the sky, and tell me what do you see?”
“A falcon searching for prey.” Cavan looks up as he squints
his blue eyes.
“Tell me more.”
“I see our people, killing off their cattle and pigs. They are
throwing them into the water wells of the village”
“Very good.”
“Did that really happen Mame?”
“Yes indeed it did, lad. But there is heaps of more to this
account. Tell of the birds that frightened you this early morn?”
“Two black ravens crossed paths in the sky the larger
chasing the lesser, the lesser could not escape, and the larger
was intent on fatally harming the other as sport. All at once I
saw the silhouette of young woman with long dark hair running
with several fierce looking hounds through the forest in great
haste. Then I had this troubled feeling, like something was
amiss. I began to run myself so I should not be left behind.”
“The woman running through the forest is a special spirit.
But let me start from the beginning.” Muira resists in showing
her fear. The Pouka must have been nearby, she thinks to
herself.
Cavan sits with his legs crossed. He rests his face on his
hands to focus his attention on his grandmuther. Muira starts
the training of the lad in the way of the Druid. She hesitates not
wanting to sound like an old woman at the spinning of an tired
tale. Now, she desires the boy to listen with a way not given to
a child.
“Cavan, it’s time for you to learn as a man in greater
understanding of our land and people. There are many lessons I
wish for you to take on your coming journey. Some of which you
are to hear is known to no other in our family save myself.
The Druid way is to use the knowing we acquire from the
deities to help the people of this land, but that which the Druid
knows is to be shared only with another Druid. Indeed, when
one Druid comes to the place of another Druid, the latter is
obliged to share knowledge, comfort, and shelter. The former
Druid upon such circumstance is obliged to hold secret that
which is made known to him. Do you understand?”
 10 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
“Aye, that which you tell me, and that which I tell you
of the way of the Druid is not to passed out to just any folk.”
Answers Cavan.
“You’re a good boy, and you’re quick at learning as any!
What you are being taught must be kept from all who are not
Druid be it wife, child or parent!” Muira begins her first lesson
to Cavan with a tale.
“I was a little over thirteen when my father gave me the
torc which you now wear, it was a gift from Locherbith,” she
smiles at him.
“My Da always told me when I look at things, I devoured
them with my eyes. My muther said that I had eyes just like
papa. He could see right into the spirit of a person and his gaze
would always tell what the intentions of a person were, even
before that person realized it. It was known early, that I had the
gift of divination and communication with the spirit world. Da
would take me to Lake Locherbith with him to catch fish, and
he practically had to drag me away. He said that I would talk to
the fish, but it wasn’t with the fish I was speaking. The spirits
there in the lake were teaching to me. Oh, I thought it was a
natural thing to do and in me young head I thought all could
speak with them!”
Cavan begins to fuss about while holding the sun off his face
with one hand. He squints to better study his grandmuther’s
face. Her present tale, he knows is meant for sharing as a fellow
Druid only. For the first time he does not sit as a child beside his
grandmuther, but senses he is to be spoken to as an equal.
“My first experience as a novice Druid Priestess came when
the land of the Chead had a major drought. The people were
coming to me with their palms up, asking for help. I performed
rituals for days, asking the spirits for a sign as to why they were
discontent. However, I did not receive an answer from the
spirits and knew I needed help. Many were sick and dying in
our clan along with cattle, fish and crops. Nothing I could do
would please the spirits.
I met with the Druid chieftain and elders and it was
decided our only course of action, would be to travel to a
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 11
distant spring, north of Cliath, to collect water. The spring is
known as the Dark Well. Its water was as black as the night sky.
Hunter, fisherman, and voyager alike had long avoided it. Many
who went there met with disaster, some never returned. It was
rumored to be a desolate and strange place. Some unsettling
presence hung about the land there. All was unusually quiet
with no loss in it. No birds could be heard. The spirits there
were very angry spirits.”
“Me da went as a boy to the Dark Well once. He made a
great fire on the shore and….”
Muira’s stern gaze interrupts Cavan.
“Sorry Mame…it was very exciting!” Cavan’s mind fills with
sights of decaying horror.Muira resumes.
“Our clan also went to the Holy Grove of the Druid, where
I was being taught. At the coming time when the leaves shall
fall you are to begin your training there as well. The elders and
I were admitted to see the Master Druid, Barnabas. He told us
he would send us to the Dark Well with an entourage of Druids
who were familiar with the spirits of that particular place.
They would perform the correct rituals and guard the ancient
customs to make the spirits respond favorably. There were to be
many problems. It wasn’t certain how long such rituals would
take or even if the spirits would respond in our favor.”
Muira glances at the boy’s face and she is satisfied that his
attention is strongly held.
“We were all very fearful of entering the Dark Well area;
it was as quiet as in death. Our fellow Druid entourage went
straight to work. Those of us who were not familiar with these
spirits were to stay in a protective circle of stone. The Druids
began to read the signs of the earth, water, and sky. The kinds of
trees, grasses, shrubs, and flowers within the glade surrounding
the Dark Well were noted. I could hear the wind whipping
around our circle; the angry spirits were displeased with our
presence. We did as we were told and sat in a circle facing out
on all sides, holding hands and chanting, asking for the spirits
permission to enter their realm.”
Cavan leans forward on his seat. Muira responds to the
gain of the youth’s interest with added drama in her words.
 12 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
“Meantime, other Druids were testing the condition of
the trees, testing the water, observing by color and taste. They
sniffed the air, noticing the directions of the wind. Then they
spilled out various powders and potions made with herbs, root
and flowers into the waters. Goats were sacrificed, and set on
fire as offerings to the spirits. We chanted sacred songs and
continued these rites and sacrifices for days.
As the angry spirits gradually calmed, I was asked to
participate. The spirits wanted me to come into the lake, being
that I was in communication with the spirit of the lake at my
home at Locherbith. I was trembling looking down into that
water as black as night shadows, but I reluctantly went in and
walked toward the center in that cold water. The spirits guided
me and pulled me in. What I saw frightened me. I saw how the
lake was keeping the spirits of innocent people from reentering
the netherworld. They were trapped forever in the lake.”
Cavan is quick to share the fright that his grandmuther
relives. He moves closer.”The spirits of these lost ones where
swirling about me in the water. It was dark except for the whites
of their eyes. They started pulling me down into the water and
away from the shore. I felt their hands on my legs, arms and
face. I was pulled under gasping for air. I lost consciousness.
When I came to, I was on the shore. One of the Druid priests
had pulled me from the water, almost drowning him self.
That’s when a vision came to me. The lake needed to be
cleansed from these restless spirits, which dwelled in it. “Set fire
to it now!” I said to the Druid Master.
“How do you burn a lake?” Asks Cavan impatiently.
“They immediately began to make rafts from the lashed
bows of hickory, ash, and elms. Various plants and leaves were
spread upon a raft. Several pyres were set a flame then put to
float upon the water. The surface of the lake was soon on fire.
Breezes screamed and smoke whipped about the fires on the
lake. The flames rose very quickly and the flickering reflections
seemed to penetrate beneath the surface. We all moved into
the protective circle. The screams of those spirits in the lake
were so loud we covered our ears. When I looked upon the lake,
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 13
I could see faces of the lost ones, howling in anguish as they
passed through the fires. I had to close my eyes tight. It went
on and on. We kept building rafts of flame throughout the night
until we all collapsed from exhaustion within the circle.”
The power of Muira’s telling, and the vivid recollection of
her tale has both herself and the lad exhausted. Her words came
slowly and softly now.
“In the morning, we all awoke to the sweet sound of the
birds. A fellow Druid priest called out to us to look at the
pool. It was now blue, and crystal clear. For several months
after that, our clan came with Draught horses and donkeys to
collect water, as much as we could carry. Carefully we followed
the instructions of the spirits of the lake and performed the
required rituals. The pool provided for us until the drought
ended. We held a festival and a celebration in honor of the
spirits of the Dark Well. Back in the that village near Cliath,
the clan made me a home upon a small lake, as a sign of their
gratitude.”
“Oh! So that’s why me da threw the burning embers of his
fire into the lake when he went fishing there, as an offering!”
Cavan is eager to hear more, excited at the thought of what
challenges await him.
“Soon after, I met my husband to be, Egan. I left my father’s
village and was to became the official spiritual matriarch of the
clans in our land of Giollabhain.”
“Will I get to see the Dark Well, Mame? Will I get to see
the spirits?” Cavan wonders.
“You will learn much of the ways of knowing and become
a great Druid like your great grandfather. Your deeds will be
directed by the needs of the land spirits and your people.”
“Why can’t I learn from you here, why must I travel to this
Holy Grove?”
“There Cavan, you will learn from many good and
wise people, not just from myself. To posses and to use the
knowledge of the stone circle takes time and practice. In the
Grove someone will always be there to answer your questions
without delay. It takes much learning to tell what part of the
 14 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
sun’s cycle is at hand, to know the spirits of the sky, earth and
water. You will learn more of the medicines and poisons of the
earth than I in order to help our people. You will acquire the
secrets of those who truly see the future. In the end, you’ll know
much, and will serve greatly wherever wisdom is needed.
Just as your older brothers made off to serve King
Drummond of Giollabhain, for some time you must begin to
follow in way of knowing. Your duties at the Holy Grove will
take you all about our island, not without many visits to your
home and grandmuther. You will meet many like yourself there,
many a young girl will be looking for a lad such as yourself.”
Cavan notices in the distance that a single horse drawn cart
is making way from the village along the road towards Muira’s
home.
“Someone is after coming this way,” points out the lad.
“I’m supposing it’s your muther and your two sisters on the
trail,” answers Muira.
“Are they coming to fetch me home now?”
“Indeed not, me boy! It might be that they are coming to
help with the making of a grand meal in your honor this very
day.” Muira is thrilled to have caught the youth in a surprise.
“All those of our clan are set off when they come of age by
way of a special gathering and feasting. This day and night is for
honoring the man your are now.”
Cavan is full of pride and honor that his family is to begin
the taking of him as a man. He is, however, just a bit faint at the
knowing of what it is exactly that he must do differently now
that he has become a man.
“Let’s keep our place here for a time. Is there something
special that you would like to be knowing?” Muira asks Cavan.
“Grandma, tell me of the wee people, and how you came to
know them. Will I ever get to see them like you?”
“When I was a very young girl much younger than you, my
father took me on a short journey in the fields about our village
in Chead. He was going to a special place, a golden meadow,
to gather medicinal herbs and roots that are found there in
abundance.”
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 15
Cavan seizes in delight. He smiles. He is sure now that he
will be getting the whole of her knowing of the wee folk.
“It happens that this entire meadow was at some time
thrust high above all the land about it. It sits like a natural
table over the land with rocky high walls mostly marking its
border. The place stands the height of several men, and can’t
be climbed except near the western slope, which is covered in
golden grass but steep as well. A man can climb atop if he goes
crawling up on his hands and feet. To either side of this are two
narrow rugged tree lines that steeply work their way from the
lower meadow to the upper. These tree lines are impassable for
most creatures with four sturdy legs and they are not meant for
the likes of us to be stepping about.”
Muira laughs to herself with the boy’s delight in her words.
She wishes to miss no detail in her account of this tale for his
sake. She speaks slowly, and carefully.
“Now, the whole of the place is magical, with the western
slope being more so. There are perpetual winds that pass up and
down this slope. In the afternoons on a summer’s day, many are
the count of birds that sit fixed in the air just off this western
precipice. Their wings never flutter, but they play to their own
delight in the strong breezes that hold them up in the air. Their
motionless flights are such that a man could reach out with one
hand and pluck them right out of the sky.” Muira is warmed at
the delight in her grandbaby boy’s eyes from the hearing.
“It is said all about that the great magic of these peculiar
happenings are due entirely to the pleasure that wee people take
by riding the backs of these birds as they soar. It is believed that
the tree lines are home to an excessive number of such fairy
folk as these woods are rarely traveled and the wee ones are
mostly never disturbed. Also, neither man nor beast can keep
a home on the top of this meadow as none who have tried have
succeeded and only bones of the like are to be found up there.
So! The fairies have kept the place to themselves and the whole
nature is all the better for it. My father has had many dealings
within the wee folk over the years and they’ve come to know
him well, as my father respected and kept their ways. In return
 16 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
they would on occasion allow his presence in the midst at least
for a brief time.”
“Where do the wee folk come from?” Cavan puzzles out
loud.
“Now, as you know Cavan, the wee folk were the original
inhabitants over all the lands of our island home. Druid
teachings say that they came from far off by way of severe
persecution. But being smaller and weaker they were easily
conquered by those who came here by way of invasion, such
as ourselves for instance. Taking refuge in the earthen mounds
of the spirit world they came to be smaller and more spirit like
over these many years. To see a wee person can only be with
their wish, yet stumbling upon one at work or catching him by
surprise has been known to happen. This is why they are about
busy at night doing their chores. If someone gives particular
offense, the wee people will be busy after them day and night
causing all sorts of mischief.”
“Me da says is best to avoid the wee folk altogether for fear
of their trouble making,” reports Cavan.
“The wee people are not all about trouble. The wee folk
are awfully fond of the small children, as they may have none
of their own. They’ll often times bring aide to a sick child, help
with the child’s chores, and are particular about entertaining
young cripples and other unfortunates. They can become so
attached to a child they have been known to take the child to
their homes under the ground for a bit and on rare occasion
raise the child themselves. If you haven’t seen a wee folk as of
yet, don’t quite give up hope. For sure enough in the business
that is ahead that you’ll be near to many.”
“How did you exactly come to see one for the first time
Mame?”
“It was quite unexpected. My father and I made our way up
the western slope of the great high golden meadow, searching
for special plants needing to be collected. We eventually came
into the trees for a bit of the way. We hoped to just come out
onto the upper meadow. There before us in the first opening
from the trees was a small spring of water. We approached with
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 17
the intention of having a cool drink after our long hard climb.
As we closed toward the spring, my father noticed a large print
in the soft earth near the water of the spring. It was inhumanly
shaped with large claw marks. My father was immediately
frightened. He took my hand and we bolted down the step
trail into the woods. ‘The Pouka is stalking about looking for a
victim!’ Said he.
Now the malevolent spirit of the Banshee can take several
different forms when she is afoot. All of which are terrible shapes
to behold, but my father had no intention of encountering this
Pouka with his small child in hand. Down and around we raced
through the thicket toward the lower meadow. Almost at once,
the path in the woods came to a narrow point. Here in haste,
my father’s step slipped off a small ledge and he fell into the
brush several lengths below. ‘Hurry on the path home, I’ll be
just behind you’, said he. So off I went, following the trail down
but soon I could no longer hear my father’s voice or any sound
of him. Fearful, I started back up the trail but was soon lost in
the over growth. After a time, the sound of a man rustling about
through the leaves drew me off in one direction.”
“Mame, I was lost once about the village but I was too
young for the remembering. Me neighbors collected meself and
brought me home to me muther.” Cavan recalls.
Muira recalls the panic in Rialta’s telling of her toddler
being missing. She continues her tale.
“I came upon a small glen. Lost and following the only
sounds not of nature I could hear. I saw a small form of a man
working about in the glen. From behind I could see his small
red stalking cap, green tunic, brown trousers, and tiny leather
sandals. My presence soon startled him. As he turned to face
me, I could see his white beard. His gaze met mine. He was
frozen to the spot on which he stood. I asked if he had seen my
Da, I told him we were getting away from a Pouka on the high
meadow. This freighted him all the more and he said for me to
not bother him and go away. I did not understand and told him
to take me to my Da. He quickly realized that I was a lost child
and that I was ignorant of his fairy ways.
 18 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
The old man stood quiet and put his nose to the wind. He
soon realized who my father was. He told me his own name was
Hugh Mhor. He asked me to tell no one of this meeting but my
father. In return for keeping the place of his dwelling secret,
he would grant me my wish with the added promise of his
friendship all the days while I walked this world. As a lost child
I agreed! Although some would have bargained for his gold.
The friendship of Hugh Mhor would prove over the years to be
worth much more than several fortunes.”
“How much gold did he have?” Cavan wonders.
“Every man or man turned spirit makes a fuss at the having
or having not of gold in their possession. Now gold has purity,
and an eternal life to it that makes it part of this world and part
of the next.
This is why many hoard the gold even to the taking of it
with themselves into their burial cairn upon dying. The wee folk
keep it for it’s magic, as well keeping it off the hands of the big
folk. The amount of gold that any one may own is limited by its
weight for the carrying and the digging needed for it’s hiding,
as well as the remembering where it lay. Indeed, the wee folk
are awfully good at the keeping of the stuff. And it’s for sure
that any fairy will keep more gold than any one mortal man can
manage!”
“Da says many a life was ruined for the want of too much
of it,” adds Cavan.
Muira nods her in agreement and resumes the tale.
“Quickly, Hugh led me off toward my father who was busy
attempting to discover myself. As father noticed my approach,
Hugh transformed into a hare and made away into the thicket.
I told my father of the little old man but have to this day told no
one of the whereabouts of Hugh.”
“Did you tell any of the Druid of Hugh’s place on the
golden meadow?” Cavan asks.
“No, my pledge goes with me through this world and into
the next. It’s for Hugh himself to be introducing the location of
his home to any other man, Druid or no.”
Cavan realizes that the Druids are not bound to tell all
from one to the other.
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 19
“And once every spring upon a particularly pleasant
evening, I’ll walk out near the bushes of my garden and call out
to Hugh with a poem of gratitude. Hugh answers by planting
during that night some of the very small purple colored flowers
my Da was fond of collecting.”
“Did you ever see this Hugh again, Mame?”
“Yes, upon several occasions, at times of great trouble. The
next time would be the day before the near passing of my dear
muther from this life.”
“I remember my muther talking about great grandmuther,
but I don’t know much of her life,” young Cavan answers.
“My father was not young when he married your great
grandmuther, Mairg. She was quite young, fresh and lovely,
as sweet as any flower. Mairg would bear two sons and one
daughter to my father. My older brother, the first born of Mairg
would die as an infant in his first dark season of winter. All the
magic and knowing of the master Druid of Holy Grove could
not save many new born and many of the older people that year.
The cairns would be full by the next summer.
My younger brother, Brid, not much older than yourself
would die in battle while in service to the king of Chead. My
muther would not recover from the wound of his loss. I was just
newly married to Egan, your grandfather, arriving amongst the
McElwain clan in Giollabhain. My father said that Mairg’s heart
had become too weak from shock of her last son’s death. Her
strength left her. She lay frail upon her bed for many days with
the color of the Banshee upon her face. Her desire for food and
drink lost, my father said he never felt as helpless.
It was a little before the spring season, late one wet and
miserable dark night while my husband slept, there came a call
from the wind, ‘Muira was lost, but is now friend to Hugh’. This
call repeated till I rose and with lit candle searched out through
the cottage door where Hugh Mhor stood below the thatch of
the roof with a small vile in hand. If ever I doubted my sight of
him as a small child, now before my eyes he stood dry as bone
for having come through all the rain and great distance from
his home. ‘Take this potion to your muther straight away, every
 20 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
drop must pass her lips, it will keep her form the banshee till
summer when the spirit of her sons shall ease her dreams,’ said
he. As I took hold of the vile from his small hand he vanished
from my sight. ‘Thank you Hugh’, I called out after him.
The vile contained one swallow of a potion with a fragrance
unknown to me or any other at the Holy Grove. Only from a
plant, or root deep within the earth could be such an unknown
to the entire Druid.
The journey back to Chead was hard and long with the
winds, and rains, and darkness of winter. Only my Egan made
the journey to my muther’s side possible. There as soon as the
contents of the vile passed her lips her torment rested, she slowly
recovered. That summer she would dream of both her lost sons
and come to know their spirits were safely in the netherworld
where her own spirit would come to rest. My muther’s health
and contentment never left her disposition until her final day.
But for the honor of the wee people, Mairg would have left this
life far too soon for Da and me.
Enough of the wee folk now Cavan. You must be prepared
for the work ahead of you at the Holy Grove.”
“Tell me about this grove of the Druid, Mame.”
The two notice the figures of the small dark horse and a
wooden wagon on the adjacent hill heading in the direction of
Muira’s home.
“Look Cavan upon the road, it’s you mum for sure.”
“Yes, and there’s me dog Madra running about in front of
the horse leading muther and the girls onward to your place.”
The two Druid watch as the horse slowly pulls a flat
wooden bed atop two solid wooden wheels along the road below.
A lady sits up front holding leather reins and two child figures
are seated in the back. A great brown dog chases about sniffing
the ground, raising his head to scent the air, and occasionally
stopping with raised ears for a listen.
“Your dog, Cavan, is busy using his head to tell the past and
the future.”
“How so Mame?”
“The scent of the past lays upon the ground for his reading.
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 21
The future is announced to the dog with fresh scents upon the
wind. When your muther reaches the point in the road from
which we have passed what will your dog then do?”
“He’ll make our scent and take off in our direction to find
me!”
“And what man was there to be telling him our were
about?”
“None, he just uses his nose. Just as he has done since a
puppy,” answers Cavan.
“Right you are Cavan, but man is also to be knowing the
past and the future! By the using of one’s own head, the signs
are taken and the past as well as the future is told. This is the
proper business of the Druid. It is now your business, Cavan.”
“Shall we start back down towards the cottage?” Asks
Cavan.
“Let us do that lad. But we’ll take a slow pace for they’re a
bit off for any need to be hurrying.” Muira continues the story
as they walk.
“To understand the Druid of Chead you must understand
life in this land long before they came. The land of earlier times
was uncivil. In fact, it was most barbaric. There were no nations
on the island for the wildness of the people. No common laws
were kept but by that of the blood feud. An offense against
another was cause to fight, one family against the next, and
neighbor fighting neighbor. Arguments were settled by the
ruthless who many times seemed to be the only ones to
survive.”
Muira stops to have Cavan gather some wild flowers with
which to greet his muther and sisters.
“Get plenty of those bright yellow ones there for your
muther has a fondness for them, just as your grand father had.
The people of the land suffered mightily. If one’s crop
failed or the cattle began dying the only way to survive was
the plunder of one’s neighbor. Cliath was just a tiny place then,
more squalor of dirty huts and garbage all about, a filthy place.
But being by the sea the people could escape by boat from
raiders that come from inland, or escape inland from raiders
 22 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
come by sea. So, as poor a managed place as it was then, Cliath
was the best the island Mahr could offer as a home.”
“Me da says when we are about we must be looking after
one another for fear of any black hearts at work,” confirms
Cavan.
“Sometime back, a wise man came to be in charge of
Cliath. His name has been lost to us. He was intelligent enough
to keep the village well fortified and managed a small standing
army to keep off most troubles. In these chieftain’s dealings, he
came by way of sea traders to hear that an order of wise men had
established places of council and law for the lands on the other
side of the sea.
These men were employed by a ruler of a country to
manage, advise and regulate the many civil affairs to which the
ruler could not himself attend. They would advise the king but
were charged in duty to serve him and keep their loyalty.”
Cavan begins to pick up a few pebbles and tosses them out
over the meadow.
“I’m listening grandmuther but you know I’m still little
enough to be needing some fun.”
“Be careful lad not to strike a wee person on the head for
plenty’s the trouble to come from that.”
Cavan drops the last pebbles, and Muira continues.
“This lord took chance to sail to the mainland and seek
out the place of the Druids. There he witnessed their powers
and the knowledge they possessed. He made the acquaintance
of three young Druid brothers. The chieftain informed them
of his hopes to make the island one great nation by use of
common decree, and common practice of business and religion.
The young Druids made a treaty with this king that still stands
today. In return for their service they were to have the land of
their choice for purposes of their order. This was to include
any chores of heavy labor, as they need. A secured separate
compound was built for their living, study and teaching. The
king provided materials, labor, armed sentries for the work of the
Druid. In return, the Druid served the wishes of the kingdom
and provided him with the benefits of their knowledge.
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 23
The three young Druid returned with the king to Cliath.
Their first task was to construct a large circle of wooden posts
atop a hill overlooking Cliath with the best view of the sky, and
the earth’s horizon. From here, the placement of the objects
in the sky would be marked and their changes in the heavens
would tell of the time of the season. Crops would be planted,
and harvested by prediction of the Druids. Ships would sail to
sea with the aide of the Druid’s readings of nature to foretell
the weather. All the people of Cliath would be brought into a
covenant with the spirits. The daily living of the villagers would
be in agreement with the deities of the earth, sky and water.
The law of Cliath was shaped by the success of the
Druid in regulating affairs of agriculture, metalworking,
accounting, trade and commerce. A utilitarian sense of crime
and punishment allowed offenses against the people, land, and
sovereign of Cliath to be dealt with in a just manner.” Muira
notices the studious look upon the boy’s face as he ponders his
place in such a history.
“You’re a descendant of those original Druid lad, and you’ll
do fine at their work. Cliath began to prosper; the kingdom of
Cliath began to move out of the village. As the nation of Chead
was forming, the power and wealth of the Druid grew. The
wooden circle of the Druid was replaced with heavy, massive
stones laboriously dragged from mountains across the sea.
These rare large stones are of azure color, a sign of their special
power and magic. One by one the stones were made to stand in
the circle until it appeared as it does now.”
“Is their stone circle like the one we just left?
“Similar Cavan, but the one you are going to see at Cliath
is much grander for sure.
The original mud huts of the Druid’s compound have
been replaced with circular stone fortifications, which houses
the Druid’s families, students in learning, servants and armed
guards. The sapling trees planted in clusters about the Druid
compound now stand as groves of large oaks. The entire facility
of the Druid has come to be called the Holy Grove. As of now,
the entire island is Druid in practice. The Holy Grove is revered
 24 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
as the seat of knowing and learning the ways of the spirits of the
sky, earth and water. To the Holy Grove, come young men and
women such as us to join in this order. Some come from lands
far from the distant shores of the sea.”
“Will I go far away to these places, Mame?”
“If it is your destiny, but may you always choose to return
home. The Druid study is many years by way of showing and
doing. This is so for all that come to Holy Grove. The practice
has been so since the original three Druid began, even from my
time to yours.”
Cavan looks at the horizon and notes his muther and all are
a bit off yet.
“They’ll be a time yet at the coming for muther does not
like to tire the horse. She wishes no trouble with the cart from
braking at the rush.”
“She’s a wise one that muther of yours. Takes after her
father she does.” Muira notices a bit of forlorn and longing in
the boy’s gaze as he looks off toward the distant cart.
“Cavan, you’ll have much fun and wonder about you there
at the grove for many years. Your grandfather will be pleased.”
“Did you meet grandfather there?” Cavan asks
mischievously. He knows quite well that this is a favorite topic
of his grandmuther.
“Egan and I met by fate, and established a merging of our
two souls immediately. He was visiting the village of Cliath
with his chieftain to discuss the growing empire of a nation
on the mainland. I was at the village hall with my father who
was to attend the meeting also. Egan sat next to me at the
table, and the first thing that impressed me was his stature and
penetrating dark eyes. He had reddish brown hair and brown
eyes. He was from the land of Giollabhain, northeast of Cliath.
I was inspecting him out of the corner of my eye.” Muira clears
her throat.
“It wasn’t until he bumped with his elbow and a cup of
wine spilled on my robe that we began to talk. He was obviously
embarrassed and asked me to please excuse his clumsiness. I
looked up at him, knowing all to well what the stirring in my
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 25
stomach was telling me. At first we talked shyly, averted glances
at each other, then somehow we started forgetting our selves
and really gained an understanding of one another. He told me
about a land far off and how it was growing and power. ‘It is
dangerous for us here on the island, he told me. But you,’ he
said, ‘you interest me. I look in your eyes and see only goodness
and lightness.’ ‘Thank you,’ I said demurely, feeling my face
flush.” She said this and recalled his warm smile as he lifted his
drink to toast her.
“He stayed in town a for some time and we spent most
of it together. Egan began to pursue me by showing up at my
home, arranging chance meetings on my way to market. Always
showing himself in a way so he would catch my notice, he also
gave notice to my Druid father. My father was always very
serious and he observed that I, his daughter was amused by the
boyish pranks of Egan.”
Muira notices that her grandson is about to giggle from
the embarrassment of dealing with pure romance. She tries
to gather a more matter of fact tone, but her womanly feelings
rise, and her eyes water with the next recollection. Cavan holds
his grandmuther’s hand in the manner of his early youth.
“We walked through the fields together. That is when he
told me that he couldn’t be without me, and he wanted me to
be his wife. He instantly made his proposal to me known to our
families and villagers. I accepted, knowing there would be some
difficulty since I was a Druid. But he was very determined and
I was glad of it.
It chanced that my father once again found Egan at our
home and in a simple direct way informed my young man that
I was to be wed only to a man with proven right. Egan asserted
his wish to wed me as soon as possible and that he was willing
to prove his right.
My father proclaimed that by the coming of the May Day
festival of Beltaine, which starts immediately after the rainy
season. Egan must return with three distinct signs approved
by three powerful deities that prove he is chosen to marry his
daughter. Egan soon left Cliath to return to his homeland. He
 26 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
intended to come back in the next spring to marry me.” Muira
is thankful for Cavan’s affection. She kisses the boy on the
forehead.
“Thank you Cavan for caring. This tale has much meaning
for you and your future.”
“As the dark season neared, Egan became preoccupied
with preparations of the family farm and thoughts of me were
left to dreams and desires of late evenings. Winter forage for the
cattle was to be gathered and stored from the coming rains in a
large circular structure, indeed the cattle themselves would also
seek shelter there upon cold blustery days.”
Cavan had heard this tale many a time by his grand muther,
and his muther as well. Today this lesson holds a new attraction,
as if he somehow shares his grand father’s place.
“It was a mild fall day when he was working repairing the
roof of the barn with a group of neighbors, when Egan noticed
a crow struggling to pick up a shiny object, but upon flying, the
object would fall to the ground. The crow repeatedly struggled
with the object only to be met with failure. It seemed that the
object was magically called back to the earth. As the crow’s
efforts intensified, other creatures took notice as well. Fellow
crows perched above in the nearby oak, seemingly in order to
fully observe the struggle. Egan found this spectacle to be quite
peculiar and his interest was captured with growing curiosity at
the object. A hawk broke from its transcending flight to circle
slowly above in anticipation. It seemed as if the whole earth
stilled to assist the crow in his endeavor.
The object appeared as a small yellow leaf, or a fall bloom
with yellowish petals. It seemed as if the object was a familiar
bit of nature but at the same instant, it seemed to have some
intelligence capable of outwitting the beak of the crow. His
fellow workers, although amused, did not seem particularly
intrigued by all this. Egan, however, descended the ladder
and headed in the direction of the crow with the suspicious
object. He had to know what it was that brought a full stop to
all natures business. The crows above in the oak gave out a cry
of warning, and the crow that was busy with the object noticed
Egan approaching and reluctantly flew away.
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 27
Egan saw the object in the grass, and bent down to pick it
up, surprised at the heaviness of it. It was a bright yellow flower
with three petals. Egan’s gaze made wide in disbelief. ‘Gold!
This is made of gold!’ The object reflected the sun’s light.
His fellow workers overheard and came down to find out
what was all this talk of gold. It was a crudely fashioned by
nature as a three-leaf amulet, a sign from the deity Creidhne,
and the goddess of metalworking. There could be no one
who would say otherwise, even my father. Egan had this most
precious amulet attached to a golden chain and would wear it
about his neck until he presented it to me in the coming spring.
The first sign had been made.
As winter passed, Egan’s attention would wonder from his
work in hopes of discovery of the remaining two signs needed
to win me. In early spring, the calves would be born. This time
would be soon. In anticipation of the newborn cattle, Egan
recalled the episode in his youth, in which he found and saved
his dearest cow, whom he named Shishi. Upon some accident,
shortly after her birth, Shishi had slipped backwards down a
deep embankment and was pinned under a large root extension.
Water erosion of the ground exposed several large roots under
which a ditch from the draining water had formed and became
the inescapable trap for Shishi. This trap grew tighter about as
Shishi struggled.
As Egan passed by this stand of trees on his way up the
hill, the calf ’s weakened sound of stress turned his head. He
spotted a black calf with a white forehead and under belly in
her struggle. He wondered how any calf could fall into such a
place. Perhaps at a nighttime feeding the calf slipped. Cows
bear their young and hide them for a time before returning to
the herd. Perhaps the muther made a poor choice of retreat.
Perhaps the muther was nearby and ready to charge in defense
of her calf. Egan had to search about the trees and shrubs, the
nearby meadows, but no cow was to be seen.
Shishi’s muther must have abandoned her. Perhaps the
muther had twins. In any case, Egan’s compassion for the baby
beast compelled him to give aide. One massive root held Shishi,
 28 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
but as he leveraged off the root’s grip, Shishi was too weak to
scramble up the embankment to freedom. Egan could not free
her alone. He attempted to comfort the animal by covering her
with his tunic, then ran home to get his younger brother Tarin,
to assist him. With the aid of his seven-year-old brother, Egan
lifted the root off the back of Shishi and his little brother pulled
on the tail.
Due to the rise of the embankment, and the force of a tug
of the calf ’s tail, Shishi slid further down the embankment, and
slid freely to the ground. Her legs collapsed from weakness. The
two boys lifted her to all fours. However, she collapsed once
again. Egan carried the calf around his neck. The animal was
nearly half the weight of Egan. He nursed the calf to health, and
Shishi would remain devoted to him. She would, over the years
that followed, provide a great number of calves with several
twin births. Shishi would reward Egan by giving him great
wealth in the size of his cattle herd.
That spring, Shishi would return to the herd with triplet
calves of identical markings. Surely, Arianrhod, goddess of birth
had granted him the second sign needed to win me hand.”
“The second sign had been delivered.” Cavan asserts.
“For the remainder of the spring, Egan waited, hoped and
searched for the third and final sign, but only in vain. Becoming
desperate, he traveled about with a walking stick to search
under shrubs for his missing sign. He searched litters of dogs,
cats, anything for something special. He would not give up
hope, even up to the time he left for Cliath and the celebration
of Beltaine.
As Egan made his way to Cliath with Shishi and the three
calves with identical markings, and the amulet about his neck,
he continued to look. They traveled along the water’s ways. He
dreamed of the surprise on my face, that I would behold his two
triumphs and surely my father would delay his time for a third
sign. He grew tired and more uncertain as he neared Cliath. He
stopped to offer thanks for the fortune he had come upon and
for the chance to win me, even if he would not.
During this muse, a sweet floral scent awoke his senses. A
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 29
scent stirred in him a yearning he could not explain. His mind
flashed of being a babe in his muther’s arms. His lungs filled
deep and hot fire grew within. He would fight for me and he
would never surrender his quest. Never!
That scent, which revived him came from the riverbank,
came from three small deep purple flowers growing on a tiny
shrub. The velvet petals with delicate yellow markings were
barely visible among the bracken. This would have to be his
final sign. Boann, goddess of the river, must surely be on his
side.”
“Grand da thought this must be the third sign!” Cavan has
waited for this part of the story.
“Egan’s band approached my family dwelling. I stood
proud and hopeful that I would be Egan’s woman. This man
would be the center of my love and giving for the rest of my life.
My father waited as well, with his arms crossed over his chest
and face stern. Egan presented the golden amulet and placed
it on my neck. He presented the triplet calves, born with the
same markings of the muther. My father didn’t respond. Finally,
the three roses were handed to the father and he put to them
to his nose. His eyes swelled with tears. These roses were his
muther’s favorite and he had not held any since her passing into
the other world. He had no question of Egan’s worthiness. My
father kept the roses, and gave his permission for me to go with
Egan as his wife after our wedding. The gold amulet would stay
with me, and all the cattle would return with Egan and myself
as his bride.
Soon after the wedding, Egan and I settled a new home.
The first year, I was with child. Oiche was my first son,
he had hair the color of fire. About two years later, I had a
second son, Daor, who died after eight months from a cough
in the dark season.” She pauses and closes her eyes briefly to
remember him.
“My heart was broken, for I held my baby all through the
night the night he died. I was weary caring for the sick child and
poor Daor was weary as well.” Muira grabs holds Cavan’s hand
tightly as her eyes water.
 30 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 31
“One can still find his grave on the top of the hill south of
here, under an ancient oak. Egan was distressed over not being
able to comfort me, but before we knew it, I was with child
again. I knew this child would be musically inclined by the look
of his long fingers when he was born. I named our third child
Ceol, because he was like a song to me. He had blond hair with
a red tint and pale blue eyes.
A few years passed and we had a third child, a son, whom
we named Leigh. He had brown hair and blue eyes, looking very
much like his own father. He was a bit clumsy and I could never
keep him neat, but he grew up quick-witted and wise.
Several years later our girl child was born, who we named
Rialta, The boy Fergus followed at the last.”
Muira releases Cavan’s hand. She smiles as she recalls the
joy of all her children and the many good times they shared.
“But enough of idle chatting. Now you know everything
about me that is necessary to know when I am gone. I want you
to know of Locherbith as well.”
They walk quietly and listened to the birds.
“Your vision of the birds is a forewarning of things to come.
You must go to the Holy Grove and take your teachings very
seriously. Always be mindful of the spirits, for our very existence
depends upon them. There is so much more to tell you.” She
pats him on the head.
Cavan stirs yet with pensive gaze. He looks to his
grandmuther.
“Why is gold always found under the earth?”
Surprised by a question never asked before, Muira leans
back. “So that we who walk upon the earth in life or in death
should value the land.” Muira is surprised by her own response.
Cavan has given her cause to rejoice in living. Rialta has arrived
and they climb into the cart and head back to Muira’s cottage.
 CHAPTER II
Ní thigeann an sách an seang.
The well fed does not understand the lean.

Cavan and Muira reach the cottage just as the boy’s muther and
sisters arrive by horse cart. Cavan advances to take hold of the
horse as his muther brings the cart to a stop.
 34 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
“Ah, Cavan put a tie around the horse’s feet till your
muther gets herself down.” Rialta runs to give her new man-
child a hug.
“Oh my, you’re wearing muther’s brioche. It’s a grand site
you are with a fine Druid tunic and gold finery about you. Those
Druid in Cliath will be glad at the very site of you.”
Muira helps Cavan’s sisters, Ree and Mea, down from the
back of the cart.
“Take your goods into the cottage girls. Your grandmuther
has some treats on the table waiting for you now.”
Rialta still holds Cavan.
“This day the family celebrates your coming to be a man.
It’s a grand feast with all your uncles, we will be having.”
“My uncles are coming here today? Just for me own sake!”
“Coming no more for they are down on the lower west
meadow tending the cattle, and playing the games of their
youth I’ll wager,” answers Muira.
“Now Cavan, your uncles want you to join them for lunch
just before they take the herd to the lake for a wash up. Uncle
Ceol has brought a fine new rope to be stretched over a large
bow near the water’s edge for the climbing up, and the swinging
and diving off, at the old swimming hole.”
Cavan knows he is now to join the men at the gatherings
and to keep off from the children as he is now a grown-up as
well.
“Me uncles asked for meself did they? Best I be off for the
joining of the men folk.”
“If you please Cavan, I have cold ham, cheese, and fresh
bread to be taking along with you for lunch. And there’s a
crock of stout for their thirst in the back of the wagon,” speaks
Rialta.
“Take your muther’s horse, and I’ll put the goods for the
eating in a large linen bag. You’ll be eating with your uncles,
Cavan. Mind the boys and keep some appetite for an early
super.” Muira directs.
“Cavan, leave your tunic off and I’ll be keeping the brioche
till you return. Don’t lose one of your new sandals for otherwise
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 35
you’ll be off to Cliath with the look of a beggar.” Rialta wants
the boy to look proper for his arrival at Holy Grove.
“Muther may I have some stout with me uncles?”
“What? And you just turning from a child!” Rialta is
shocked that her son is so quick to be asking for manly
pleasures.
“Hold on Rialta, it’s his time for his choosing in the way
of a man. Nature won’t keep young that which doesn’t fit in a
cradle. Share what’s given to your uncles and take your part as a
man in the family, and be off with you now!”
Rialta is sad as the youth rides off. “He’s very much a small
child yet to my thinking.”
“Indeed, my dearest daughter, but the king will put him
to war with the men if he chooses. Let the boy wear his new
manhood with ease. It’s for sure he’ll be earning it dearly for
many a year to come.”
Muira calls her two granddaughters out to the back yard.
There Ree, and Mea are made busy at working up a fire in
a large cooking spit. Rialta will bring pieces of pork, lamb,
chicken, and beef from the springhouse for setting over the fire
for a slow roast.
“Mum there’s several large crocks of stout, and wine on
the wagon. Me husband, has loaded a long table on the cart as
well.”
“Fine Rialta, when the boys return they will be after the
drink. We’ll have them set up the long table in the garden under
the shade for feasting this day.”
The ladies work away at baking breads on a large skittle
set upon flat stones heating by the fire of the spit. Long loaves,
biscuits, and rolls of raisin bread glazed with honey are made
ready. Cabbage cooks in a large kettle upon the fire to which
salt is occasionally added to fit the girl’s taste. Rhubarb boils
in a second kettle into which strawberries and honey are
mixed. Fresh tomatoes are stewing with squash, and a mix of
warm beans. Apples just taken from the cold storage of the
springhouse are baking. Fruit pies heat in covered metal pans.
Fresh buttermilk, spring water mixed with lemon juice and
 36 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
honey, and apple cider are gathered from the springhouse as
well. The entire spit and all the flame is busy for several hours
at the making of a grand feast in the tradition of the McElwain
clan of the Giollabhain.
Smoke and scents of cooking meat fill the air about Muira’s
cottage. “Girls it’s the time to be gathering bunches of flowers
of sweet scent for the table,” says Rialta.
“Mind you mix some green leaves with the flowers for
color,” adds Muira. The girls are thrilled to be let loose in the
gardens of Muira. Her many brilliant flowers, and bushes grow
in circular rows about the cottage. Many are the villagers that
have passed by Muira’s home just for the viewing and the taking
of the fragrances to be enjoyed there.
“Those girls will ruin your plants before they’re done,” says
Rialta.
“There’s no better hand in a garden than a child’s and the
damage dun will not last as long as that of an ordinary rain.
Besides, the place is to be left to you, and yours when with Egan
again I’ll be.”
Rialta’s eyes turn to see if her muther shows a weakness.
The sight of Muira who is as busy and as happy as ever comforts
her.
“It will be my great grand children you will need to be
asking for the leaving of it.”
Rialta laughs but she is always anxious about Muira just as
her father had been.
After several hours the ladies have the feast in hand and
they sit about talking of the finer things that belong to just the
woman folk. Lot’s of news from the village is brought to Muira’s
attention. The loud sounds of men laughing and giving cheers
announce that Muira’s boys are soon to be home from their
business in the fields.
“Hello! Is there a boy to become a man in the house?” The
men roar all together. Indeed the house and the ground shake as
an army of healthy grown men invades the cottage.
“Thousand welcomes to all,” the women sing back at them
with just as much joy.
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 37
The hugging and kissing becomes a swirl of one anxious to
see the other. The motion of arms search to see who is free for
the greeting gives way to the men pulling one another off to get
first place at grabbing hold of one or other of their women kin.
Cavan watches, as it seems a great battle has commenced
in the yard of his grandmuther’s home. The contest is filled
with joy and laughter. The sounds are wondrous and loud as a
warm family unit.
Muira is delighted to see her all children home once again.
It is almost as it had always been when they were all little.
“Dinner is to be served as soon as the table is set and all
hands are washed up as clean as they can be made.”
“Right it is that your are muther,” says Oiche the oldest.
“Boys let us waste no more time, and get to muther’s cooking.
It’s the treasure true we’ve all been longing after.”
“Oiche you are always the leader, and especially good at
flattering our muther,” speaks Leigh.
“Flattering any woman is more like it,” laughs Ceol.
“How else could that great ugly face of a man get a woman’s
kiss but without a great effort at beguiling,” adds Fergus.
“I haven’t kissed a dead woman yet!” Oiche retorts but
laughs as heartily as the rest.
“I’m not sure that some weren’t kilt off entirely after
having your kiss,” barbs Rialta. Oiche’s fondness for the women
has always made good sport with his siblings.
“Cavan you are to sit at the head of the table with Oiche
at your right hand as proper this day. Meself will sit at your
left.” Muira is sure to have Cavan’s day done up so the clan’s
traditions will be well kept.
Rialta, the girls, and the boys get busy with bringing
small wooden bowls for drinking and large wooden bowls for
eating. Metal knives and forks with wooden spoons are set
at each place. At the table’s end opposite from Cavan a place
will bet set by Muira for the presence of the spirit of Cavan’s
grandfather Egan.
As the family sits down, Muira calls to Cavan, “It’s you
duty to say the words before this meal.”
 38 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
Cavan’s face flushes to have all his uncles look to him as a
man, and listen to his words.
“It’s glad and grateful I am to pass into manhood this day
with my grand family. Muira the living muther of our family and
Egan our dear father, your goodness has filled our lives. I come
of age in the light of your love and kindness. My pledge to be
faithful to our way is given. May all the children to come be as
fortunate as me here this very day…let’s eat.”
Hurrah and cheers, and tears of joy flow for Cavan’s words
touch every heart.
“Fill your bowls with punch for a toast to Cavan,” booms
Leigh’s voice.
To Oiche comes the duty of the father at the table. “To our
Cavan, no longer boy, but man. There’s much to this world to
see, but there’s no better sight, no lovelier place, and no greater
joy than our home here with our muther. May you days be full,
may your joys be long, and may your heart always be content as
it is this day…Let the feast begin,” orders Oiche.
The girls watch as the food platters move up and down the
long table. Their young eyes bulge at the prodigious size of the
servings taken by the men. The heavy flow of drink gives wonder
to them as to how a body might hold so much at one time.
“More pork here! Awfully fine stuff muther,” calls Leigh.
“Good night man, your nose will be turning round on your
face for the eating of so much pig,” laughs Ceol.
“Sure it’s no shame to be a full sized man. Better to have the
strength of a beast than the shadow of a pole.” Leigh answers
pointing out Ceol’s long thin frame.
“The lean horse wins the long race, da would always say,”
adds Fergus.
“Have any new wives Oiche?” Rialta is always curious as to
her older brother’s love life.
“I’m in need of a grand war to put me in the mood for
family making…Has your husband been after another woman?”
Oiche cannot resist the tease.
“He’s more than satisfied with one, thank you very
much.” Rialta answers proudly for her husband. The good-
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 39
natured banter and cracking on of one to the other continues
throughout the meal. The young girls are not left out.
“Mea, you’re getting to be a fine lady. Are the boys looking
at you yet?” Fergus smiles at the little one as he questions her.
“No, I’m only ten Uncle Fergus, but all the boys watch Ree
all day long.” Ree’s face turns red and she looks down demurely.
Her long black her hides her blue eyes and the pale white of her
beautiful face.
“And why not? She’s as much of a looker as her muther. All
the boys followed Rialta around at the same age like a pack of
ducks, making noise with no sense to it at all but just fort the
keeping of her attention” Muira is proud of the looks of her
daughter, and her granddaughters.
“It’s time for some pie and lemon juice and then a bit of
music.” Says Muira.
The young girls rush to get at the pies and bring them fresh
to Oiche for the cutting and handing out.
“The first piece to Cavan them mum’s get her choice,”
orders Oiche.
Cavan digs into his pie, but the pause in the talk gives him
chance to raise his favorite subject.
“How about the wee folk?”
“They weren’t invited to your party!” Muira jokes, yet
knows that the lad must have much more knowing on this
subject and she is quick to lead the conversation.
“There are many a spirit, fairy, and lesser deity to be found
about the island. These abound in the earth, sky, and water. The
greater spirits residing in places of greater magic and power
over mankind.
About the island are scattered various clans of fairies
known as wee folk. The bands of wee folk are disbursed
according to the most ancient of civilizations. Some abide in
the forests, some in the earthen digs about the meadows, some
at the banks of rivers, and streams. Only upon a rare occasion
will the wee folk venture off the land, and only then with the
help of a fellow creature of magic such as the bird, or a fish.”
This is a subject also dear to Leigh, and he is ready.
 40 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
“Each fairy band is having it’s own chieftain kept over
from the early days when they were only people about the land.
Now the wee folk, although wholly converted to life as fairies,
have kept much of the ways of themselves as people. They still
produce goods for trade amongst other fairies and mankind
alike. As fairies, they no longer keep animals or farm but help
themselves to whatever pieces they like belonging to mankind.”
Cavan is thrilled as Leigh continues.
“Now it’s been observed that a fairy band will be quick to
take to war as a way of settling disputes amongst themselves.
They will take up arms against any ignorant person insisting on
disrupting their peace all together. A farmer must take care of
not starting a feud by way of plowing up a fairy’s earthen home
or cutting down trees special to the wee folk. Today the various
people of the island and the spirits have long kept the peace by
practicing the ways taught by the Druid.”
“Is the king of Cliath a Druid?” Asks Cavan.
Oiche laughs at the mention of the king of Cliath. He
roars, “The king of Cliath is a kindly old man. Not much to look
upon, he is soft and round. There is much of the way a woman
about himself but he is dearly loved by his all people.
All but the very young children take to fussing and turning
stiff when the king is in their presence. The truth is that the
children and dogs detest the sight of the king. The dear old man
loves to hold the baby, and pet the dog. But a natural revulsion
to the king by both has caused the king to be bitten quite often.
The king carries scars from the teeth of dog, and small child
alike. Indeed, when the king is about the village, his guard must
carry walking sticks to keep the stray dog from chasing after
their sovereign.”
Ceol is a good friend of this king and is slightly offended by
Oiche’s characterization. Ceol comments. “Perhaps a plain and
lesser man than most, the king is truly royal in affairs of state
and business. His reputation for trading, and treaty is second
to none in Cliath or abroad among the many villages on the
mainland. Under this king’s rule the wealth, power, and security
of the Chead are legendary wherever a ship may sail.”
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 41
Rialta giggles aloud and she says, “This King is fond of
having a youthful wife. Every woman young or old is wanting
to be a queen.”
Ceol continues, “Over the years by way of acquisition the
king has collected a large number of ladies and many children to
claim the throne. Being a practical man, the king named the heir
to throne to be the child who has made through independent
ways the greatest wealth. The next king shall inherit only the
throne and the difficulties of it. The kingdom will fall to the
one with a keen sense of making the profit. His fortune will
pass to his dear infant children who will not want for the lack of
a father’s wit when he is off to the next world. Hence, his elder
sons and daughters are in much demand by merchants who are
ambitious to gain future influence from the throne.”
Muira is also fond of the king and her view is offered. “His
concern with the needs of the people leads the king to rely on
the wisdom of the Druid. The Druid in return are faithful to
the people, and the leadership of the king. As the village of
Cliath prospers under the reign of the king, and the guidance of
the Druid so does the island as a whole prosper.”
“The Chead have always been an intelligent, industrious
people but are given to violent ways in personal conflict. As a
nation they are relatively peaceful but collectively the Chead
are quite capable of providing a formidable defense.” Fergus
speaks with much affection for the Chead of Cliath.
“However, there has always been a second king who assists
in the rule of Cliath. Hugh Mhor is the ancient lord of the
land about Cliath and the wee folk who retreated to the high
meadow near my child hood home.” Tells Muira.
Indeed, Hugh makes the King’s business his own. Hugh
sits uninvited in royal council, and many of the treaties made by
the Chead with nations over the sea have a magical way that is
born of Hugh’s influence with the dreams of the king.
Cavan is learning that the history of the people of the
island, and the wee folk are inseparable.
Leigh’s interest is raised, and he speaks. “Hugh’s attention
with the king’s business is intended to the mutual interest of his
 42 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
fairy band, and the Chead for as the Chead prosper the fairies
there about are left to their own. For in hard times, the wee folk
will be driven from their work. Many a tree in the orchard will
not bear fruit without the magical attention of the fairy. The
berry bushes will wither for want of care from the ancient little
fairies. The spreading of wild flowers about the land can not be
done in earnest if the wee folk are not free to come and go as
they choose. Not to mention the difficulty the wee folk will
have running the salmon from the sea up the rivers and streams
when the big folk muddle the waterways with their presence.
Indeed, the land prospers only when the wee people are free
to carry out their ancient duties. Peace on the island leaves the
fairies as content as fairies can be.
The wee folk are powerfully fond of visiting the homes
and dwellings of the people of Cliath at night for purpose of
inspecting the goings on, and gathering lost bits and pieces of
the goods to be found there about. The many fairy bands will
gather in Cliath on major holidays such as Beltaine, to join the
big folk in making merry.”
“It is said that many a time when the stolen children being
held for sale in the barns with the pigs, and goats are comforted
by the music and song of the wee folk at night. In some
instances, a special fondness for a child so bound will give rise
to a plot by the wee folk for the child’s escape to live with the
fairies themselves. I know this to be the fact,” says Oiche.
“Mame, tell me about the woman who runs through the
woods.”
“Eta! She has become the keeper of the forest. Maeve
herself grants power to her. Sometime past, Eta made the
acquaintance with three peculiar spirits of the enchanted
forest. These three spirits have long banded together to cause
mischief. They will scare cattle, and chase the sheep form the
fields. They will startle the dear from under the hunters gaze,”
Muira laughs. “They have great fun upsetting the plans of the
mortal folk.”
“The spirits are named Quigley, Monty, and Mab.” Rialta
adds.
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 43
Oiche is quick to say. “These three have special powers.
One power is the ability to travel among the human population
in the visible form of some animal such as a dog.”
“Let me tell the tale of Eta,” asks Muira. “In the land of
the Giollabhain, Eta lived as a young orphan girl whose love
of nature and animals was so great that she often traveled
within the enchanted forest alone. The three spirits took great
pleasure in observing her daring escapades and would follow
her about the forest.
Upon one occasion the three spirits decided to have some
fun and present themselves to Eta in the form of three large
trout. They swam about in the small clear pool in which Eta
fished with a net. As Eta gathered the net, the three trout were
hauled on to the shore. Eta held one trout in her hand and
marveled at its special beauty. Returning the trout into the
pool. Eta said, ‘you three are too beautiful for the dinner plate…
I must place you back into the pool from where you are lost.’
The three spirits were most confused by this inhumanly
choice. But they were eager to press on with their challenge of
the girl. They were quick to make a bird’s nest in a small bush
placed along the way that Eta herself would be passing on her
return to home. Here they appeared as three nestling arrayed
in glorious feathers of many bright colors, the like of which has
never been seen by man. They sang a beautiful sweet melody for
the harmony of which no mortal one could resist. Eta passing
by the fairies’ trap paused to inspect the nest.
Eta exclaimed, ‘Oh what lovely music, what wondrous
colors to behold…I can’t tell any one of this place or the young
birds may come to harm’. Eta withdrew covering all signs of her
presence so no one could follow her tracks.
Now three fairies were sure this girl had the power of a
spirit unlike any that dwell in the woods. Eta was a girl child of
the kind they had never seen. They tried once again to test her
humanly ways. They circled about the woods distant to Eta as
she walked. They behaved like stocking wolves to scare the girl
into flight. To their surprise, the closer they approached Eta in
form of a wild pack of dogs, the more Eta called back to them
by making the sound of a baying hound.
 44 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
It seemed that Eta was intending to close on the three
spirits. Eta was not afraid, in fact she was anxious to make
friends and three hounds soon found they could not elude the
girl as she pursued them into a cave not far from the Banshee’s
mountain. Here Eta confronted the three. Laughing, Eta
informed the three that she recognized them in their spirit
form all along. ‘To me no fish, or bird or dog do I see but three
muses making a silly fuss about the forest.’
This gave uproarious delight to the three fairies. Many
the times Eta would return to this cave for the purpose of the
making of grand sport and song with the muses. By and by the
cave became the home of not only the three fairies but Eta as
well. Eta often arrived with some item to become part of the
decoration of the cave. Wood was assembled to make a table,
and chairs. Wool, and warm hides she deposited within the
cave for bedding. Crocks for storing food, cooking and serving
bowls were gathered into the cave. Eta was bit-by-bit taking
her residence within their fairy haven deep in the enchanted
forest.
In order to protect Eta while she was in the cave, her three
fairy friends transformed the trees and bushes in front of the
cave opening into the appearance of a large stone wall, so any
one or any thing passing by would not see the cave’s opening.
However, the more time Eta spent with her fairy family,
the more fairy-like Eta became. She was loosing her desire to
be mortal. And her three fairy mates were all for the granting of
her wish. Over the years Eta, child of the forest, and the three
grew to be all but inseparable. To this very day it is so!
The family was enthralled by this tale and just at its end,
Ceol breaks into music with the pipe flute. Rialta and the girls
beat tympani with wooden spoons on the long table. Before
long Oiche grabs his muther and the pair begin to dance with
Rialta and Leigh at the follow.”
Just as in days past the feet skipped to many a merry tune.
The end of the feast comes with Egan’s favorite song. Leigh’s
rich tone, Ceol’s sweet sound, and Rialta’s soft angelic voice
blend into a powerful melody for a sad tugging of the heart as
the evening approaches.
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 45
“It feels like he is here with us tonight.” Muira smiles to
herself.
Oiche announces. “The feast is ended.”
The girls and the men begin to clear off the long table;
trash is hauled to a pit a good walk off for burying. The meat is
wrapped in coarse linen then dipped in melted bee’s wax, and
stored in the springhouse. The perishables are set upon the
small table inside the cottage for the picking over during the
night. The men hold each other’s arms and join together.
“Uncle Oiche, I must pass through the enchanted forest
on my way to Cliath.”
Oiche interrupts. “Do not fuss lad, your uncles will keep
you company on the trip. Beside the person who wears a
brioche from Muira will be getting safe passage through the
enchanted wood from the Banshee.”
The sun moves low in the sky. Day is mostly gone, and the
images of evening appear in the long shadows.
“Cavan and the other men are taking him to Maeve, the
spirit of the lake on the opposite side of Lake Locherbith.
They are to follow Muira down a path to an cove only known
to Muira and her children. There will be this night the fullness
of the moon. It’s to be the lad’s first part in dealing with Maeve
herself.” Says Muira to Rialta.
The ladies gather some things for the men to pass the
night.
“Some drink and a bit of light provisions is all we’ll be
wanting.” Muira instructs Rialta.
“Take the horse and cart, mum. Rea and I will keep the
whole of your house till you return. Cavan won’t be frightened
by the goings on this night, but best mind he keeps awake
muther.” Rialta is uncertain as to her son’s ability to take part
with the Druid way so soon.
Fergus gathers the horse and readies the cart. Oiche and
Leigh collect the needs for the making of a tent from animal
hides that will be set upon a small rise near the lake. Muira will
ride with Ree on the cart. Cavan and his uncles will walk ahead
and lead the ways to the hidden cove of Lake Locherbith were
the goddess Maeve dwells.
 46 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
Cavan is sure the night’s proceedings are to be grand, as
his uncles are heavily armored and carrying sword, lance, and
shield. The men will march with eyes fixed along the whole of
the horizon. Their words are few, and softly spoken.
“We’ve not gathered as an army since we fought the Emor,”
says Ceol.
Along the group’s march, Fergus hesitates as a number of
large crows circle the band. The ravens caw to one another, and
to the men below as they make fight away from the direction of
the lake.
“The spirits are aware that Muira is heading to the lake.
Keep the eye about our work lads.” Leigh is put fully at the ready
by the birds calling. The men raise their shields up instinctively
on guard in case they encounter the Poulka. The band has taken
a bit of alarm. The rest of the march is done in stealth with the
men’s eyes never leaving the horizon. They march out upon an
open land. As dusk settles and the mist rises they arrive at the
place of their rest near Locherbith.
Here the men stable the horse aside the cart. A small tent is
raised, and a large fire will burn through the night, as Ree tends
the camp. On a knoll with a wide-open view of Locherbith, their
encampment is set. The distance to the lake from the camp is
not far but sufficiently off so Maeve’s privacy is respected.
Cavan’s uncles immediately form a plan of watch that
encompasses the camp, and all the grounds leading directly to
the lake. Their guard will not break until Muira’s work is done.
Through the evening, the night to come, and until morning’s
wake, the men will make safe the work of the Druid.
“It is time for Cavan to visit with the muther spirit as only
the Druid may. We shall ask the muther spirit to show us the
way by seeing present and the past”. Muira’s voice is strong and
determined.
The sun has moved low in the sky. Muira and young Cavan
begin to move toward the body of water that is filled by magic
through the presence of Maeve.
“What shall I do till you return?” Ree is apprehensive.
“Keep the fire bright. Listen to your uncles. I’ll ask the full
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 47
moon to let you see in your dreams the man whom is to be your
husband.” Muira smiles and Ree is heart filled with the joy of
such expectation.
For a short time, the Druid pair advances to the lake.
Muira and Cavan come to stand at the very edge of the water.
The sun has no direct light to fall upon Locherbith. Muira takes
a potion from a small linen bag. She opens the small vile and
pours a white liquid onto the surface of the water and lifts her
hands saying these words:
“Muther spirit, know that I Muira, daughter of your
husband’s blood calls to you. Here stands Cavan! He is one of
your own. Come to us that we may share that which you wish us
to know. We wish to see places far off during troubled times of
the past. Only you can help those of your own spirit.”
Cavan has never seen his grandmuther so siren, and so
strong. From Muira’s self raises a force of sound, and will such
that nature hushes to hear her words. The winds about the
lake fall soft. The water stills. Nature is attending to Muira. At
the feet of the Druid pair, atop the surface of the near water
appears the image of the full moon as a saffron globe.
“Look into this form upon the water. Call to whom you
seek. The view to you by wish is to be seen,” came these soft
words of Maeve upon the wind.
Cavan asks boldly. “Let us see the fairy forest and it’s
secrets.
#
A great forest that fences the land of the Giollabhain
assures privacy in the east of the island. A deep wood
completely covers a stretch of the land that partitions the
island into unequal halves.
Cavan views the form of a magnificent stag as he
prances along a trail in a deep wood. This deer moves in
a lordly fashion surveying all about him. The bright rust
color of its fur allows the stag to pass among the forest
hidden from mortal view.
Stands of oak, ash, and elm mix with thickets of briars
 48 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
growing so dense the deer cannot pass through. A maze of
tangled trails and paths confound any traveler who enters
into the woods. Although man is not welcomed into these
woods, the stag prince navigates effortlessly.
The deer moves close to a place of the wee folk. He
pauses not for fear but he wishes to create no disturbance
of their valuable work in nature. Near a small stream that
trickles through a glade of ferns, the stag spies four small
men. They are digging roots and carrying them into a
mound.
“We have only a million of these left.” A small round
fellow with green jacket and yellow pants declares. “Why
didn’t anyone tell me we’re are almost out ginger root.”
Three little men all in shades of black and brown,
scratch furiously at the earth beneath small delicate plants.
Little drops of a blue-white glowing liquid falls from under
their red stalking caps. Upon hitting the ground little
flashes of light sparkle.
“How is one to have beer with his super? There are no
big folk here to depend upon.” The fairy leader complains
as his helpers dump tiny buckets into a tiny wagon drawn
by a ground hog.
The stag moves onward deeper into the darkest woods.
As he moves, the sound of laughter and music call him into
stillness within mighty oaks. A band of wee folk dance with
the spirits of lost children of the Giollabhain. Fairies young
and old play flutes and beat drums. Harps made from tree
branch and spider’s webs play a captive sound.
Small children run through knotty holes that cover
the oaks. Through fairy doorways the children dart in
and out of the trees running one after the other. As high
as a hundred feet above the ground the lost children rise
through the air at the chase. Black birds carry tiny men and
women through the branches and leaves. Little trumpets
of gold sound as the birds fly about with such gaiety that is
never to be seen among mortal man.
The trail left by the stag closes after him. It is said that
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 49
the path made by a human traveling through the forest may
disappear altogether by the work of the fairies that dwell
there.
In the center of the forest is a lone lofty mountain
which stands in midst. Its peak is perpetually shrouded in
a cloudy vapor. Here is home to a most malevolent spirit
of death and destruction, the Banshee. Our deer scout will
not move near this place. He as well as all the creatures of
the forest animal and spirit alike takes much dread by it.
The magical nature of the forest has given home to a
range other spirits and animals not to be found elsewhere
on the island. For many such reasons the Chead have long
made this forest a forbidden place. Only the Druid and
people of Giollabhain dare to pass through. This forest is
also home to Eta. She is a true child of the forest.
The stag passes around the evil mountain. He
moves toward the land east of the enchanted forest. He
approaches a narrow strip of flat land, which is scared
and almost barren. The trees will not grow here nor bush
nor holly. He will not tread upon the soil of this place. He
waits and watches. Soon small flickering lights approach a
swarm of fireflies.
The tiny lights make among the sparse bracken on the
parched soil. The stag is motionless. His breath is seized.
Only after the dancing sparkles depart does he circle
about.
Our stag emerges into land east of the forbidden
forest. Here is a stretch of meadows, glades, isolated
stands of trees, and flowing streams that is Cavan’s home.
Here the mystical Lake Locherbith feeds into a small river,
which flows east through the meadows to a fall that drains
into the sea. Several villages gather along the river with
meadows and plowed fields laying about their homesteads.
Horse and wagon trails follow the river.
#
 50 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
The reflections of the moon fade.
“The magic forest is beautiful!” Exclaims Cavan. “What
were those small fiery creatures?”
“I have never seen so much of the forest before myself.”
Answers Muira.
“Only Maeve can tell of the tiny fire spirits. She must wish
you that you know of them else they would not be seen in the
reflections.”
“Mame, what do you know of Locherbith and the gold that
is said to come from this lake?”
“The mystery of the gold from the spirit of the lake is what
has brought our enemies to us. However, they are unaware that
the gift of gold that we on this island receive is not for taking!
We have come to realize that gold is just a gift, a favor from the
spirits. Locherbith’s gold has never made this country a rich
one. Locherbith remains a mystery.
Our modest prosperity came from other sources, the land
and the spirits that dwell here give our most treasured luxuries
to us. Cavan, let me show you the current circumstances so
that you may understand. Here in Cliath, in earlier times, a
small fishing and farming community thrived. The people grew
prosperous with the coming of the Druid.”
The moonlit orb light of the moon from the surface of
Locherbith stirs.
#
A large winged hawk circles around the Bay of Cliath.
It glides on warm currents rising from the land over the
shore. The sharp eyes of the bird show Cavan large holding
pens for animals, goods and slaves to be held for sale and
trade. Huts of skilled workers, merchants, and sailors
spread about. Several small stone circle forts stand about
the bay. These are made by the king’s guard to keep order
and secure the business of the docks.
Cliath is the only place on the entire island with a
standing army of some one hundred troops. Their main
duties are to keep the peace, guard the king, and protect
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 51
the place of the Druid. They keep orders of the king at the
seaport of Cliath.
By virtue of the power of the high king of Cliath all the
Chead are ruled. Ships from various nations anchor year
round. Some remain in the port and some to wait out the
winter. Great markets of produce, fish and meat are found
about the shore. Many people from around the island come
to camp in the fields surrounding the village to trade the
goods from their farms.
The sharp talons of the hawk soar above a high hill
overlooking Cliath that is the Holy Grove of the Druid.
Their compound is so prosperous that it is now a village
unto itself. The bird passes above the center of Cliath and
a large palace of great adornment. Here the king of Cliath
dwells. The king’s army is small in number but dispersed
about Cliath and the Holy Grove.
The hawk makes it out to sea. It is following the high
stonewalls that rim the seashore from east of Cliath. Up
and around to the north and back to the west, the island
is inaccessible by sea. The falcon crosses over the land of
the Giollabhain from the eastern shore. The bird’s eyes
reveals from aloft the fall of the river. A large circular fort
overlooks the ocean. A narrow stone path makes it way
down to a tiny hidden ocean cove from which the original
father of the Gillobhain made his ascent.
This fort is to be occupied by the entire population of
the east upon an invasion. There is no standing army of the
Giollabhain. The chosen ruler of the Giollabhain keeps the
land nearby with his neighbors. Matters of ceremony and
celebration are to be undertaken in roundhouses along the
river’s edge. The roundhouses serve for funerals, security,
and winter meetings and as centers of learning.
Life for the Giollabhain is much as the Chead. The
size of the land in the east is smaller but more abundant
in riches. Most of the people and their homes are adorned
with amulets, pins and decorations of gold. This gold is
found in the waters of their land. The gold is taken up
 52 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
as a present from the Maeve, the spirit of the lake to her
children of Mahr.
For longer than memory can serve the Giollabhain are
at peace with the Chead.
# valleys.”
“I didn’t see Locherbith anywhere! Did the hawk avoid it?”
Asks Cavan.
“Maeve’s lake is hidden from sight. Only the presence of
her descendants may give rise to the water’s apparition.” Muira
pauses. “This magic lake near to which we stand is Locherbith.
I dwell close with the spirit of Maeve of the golden hair. When
you look at the lake near dawn or dusk, one may see her golden
hair on the surface.”
“What is next Mame?”
“Show to us Almidah of the Emor past.” Calls Muira. As
both stare into the fiery reflection upon the water’s surface,
human figures begin to move within, and the sounds of a
time ago rise to be heard. The pair stands in witness to the
proceedings as if they are transported through time, and place.
# “Yes, and you being a handsome chap yourself should
The figures in the globe began to speak.
“Who is that bewitching woman dancing with that
man?” The visiting Prince Dunbar of the Cetura watches
the woman as her long dark hair caresses the small of her
back and then he catches a glimpse of her slender ankles as
she turns perfectly in step to the sound of the lyre.
“Her name is Almidah. Her father has won himself
a position as an envoy of commerce to our court not too
long ago. Although she does not come from royalty as she
seems, her father acquired quite a bit of land and power,”
answers the aged guard.
“She moves with such effortless grace. What on earth
does she see in that little troll of a man?” Dunbar speaks
with disdain.
“That little troll is our King Mohl of Emor, Prince
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 53
Dunbar,” the guard can’t help but to scoff. Mohl is the
son of the great king who formed this prosperous, large
kingdom of Emor, which lays adjacent to the valleys of
the great White Mountains. This kingdom strategically
rests in the midlands from the sea to the eastern mountain
The guard continues. “This woman is much bolder
than you think. Our King’s weakness for beautiful women
is playing right into her trap. Look at the way King Mohl
looks at her, how enamored. She has him feeding from
of the palm of her hand. As a visitor, you are not familiar
with the fuss she is causing both in and out of the court.
Stately men come from all over, all in want of the same
thing, her hand in marriage if not only to catch a glimpse
of her. Not only is she known for her great beauty, but
for her shrewdness in matters of state. Now that she is
entering the realm of royalty, she has a huge advantage in
the bargaining. Just by looking at her, one can see that the
stakes are high indeed.”
“She is a sight to behold,” the Prince says under his
breath.
heed my advice stay out of her path. She has very big, sharp
teeth.”
#
Maeve’s reflection of the past fades.
“She’s beautiful Mame! I’ve never seen any thing to match
such a vision. Does she still look like this?” Cavan ponders over
the vision of Almidah.
“The vision does not deceive you, but in person Almidah
would be more lovely yet. I see you are taken by her beauty,
Cavan.”
“I can’t help myself Mame. Is more to be seen?”
“Be still Cavan, and let Maeve show us as she herself
decides.”
#
 54 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
Again the globe shines with life passed.
The King of Emor is drunk on this woman’s beauty,
and spinning round her he wants nothing more than for
her to share his royal throne.
“Never, have I seen a woman of such beauty, and I’ve
seen many women,” Mohl’s hooded eyes look anything but
attractive.
“Such a graceful dance partner, your dance is as one
who stands upon the air.”
Almidah smiles broadly trying not to focus on the
scar that stretches from the king’s left temple down to the
corner his mouth.
“Tell me dear lady, would you be so kind as to join me
for private feasting tomorrow evening, it would give me
such pleasure.”
“A great honor it would be to one so small as me, sire.”
A guard rushes over to the King and whispers in his
ear.
“I regret that I must go now, important business has
come up. Until tomorrow,” he clasps her hand to kiss it and
slides a gold ring on her ring finger.
She stands until he has left the hall and glances around.
She nods to her father as he watches from behind a velvet
curtain.
Just then a man appears before her. He is tall and broad
of shoulder and he bows before her.
“Let me introduce myself. I am Prince Dunbar, from
the land that forms the eastern border with Emor.” He
looks into her green eyes and she nods demurely.
“Lady Almidah,” she pauses to study his angular
features.
“It is the pleasure to make the acquaintance. I need
the fresh air, can you meet me out in the garden in some
minutes.”
He is taken back by her aggressive response. “Gladly!”
She turns and heads in the direction of her father
standing in the doorway and he calls her over.
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 55
“Who is that man, Almidah,” he says in an urgent
whisper.
“He gave his name as Prince Dunbar, papa.”
You don’t want to ruin our hopes with the King
tonight. I suggest you avoid that young man altogether.”
“Do not worry so father,” she tries to reassure him.
“No! I have the serious thought. You cannot let the
short fancy get in the way of our long ambition. Whim can
be the fatal enemy of ambition. Especially when you are to
deal with royalty. Such do not take a lack of loyalty lightly.
Let me see your hand.”
“The King placed this ring on my finger.”
“Yes, he is serious about you my dear. At least wait
until you have an heir and you establish relationships
with trusted confidants. Our young cousin Phelan is very
trustworthy. He will keep you safe and advise you well and
his father is an important confident of mine.”
#
The two Druids watch the reflections of the past play out
upon the water’s surface.
“Why does a beautiful young girl want an ugly old king?”
Asks Cavan.
“The heart of some women is to be filled only with gold.
Others as your muther, Rialta have hearts made only to hold
the love of their husband, and children. And many of both
believe that only a king can fill any woman’s heart. The age of a
man to a woman in great need has no part in the bargaining at
all,” declares Muira.
#
The tale by the water’s reflection continues.
“I have thought you forgot me, Almidah.” Dunbar
speaks in excitement.
“I could not deny myself the curiosity of you. However,
King Mohl has shown interest. It is dangerous for both of
us to be here so.”
 56 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
“Then why did you come here?”
“I had to,” she takes a step closer to him. She wants to
rest her head on his shoulder and feel his strong arms about
her. He meets her and embraces her. She immediately
pushes him away.
“You will have us both executed. Meet me tonight in
my father’s garden. Follow me home and be discreet. My
father and I will be leaving shortly.” With that Almidah is
gone.
The evening passes at the palace.
“Sire, you are in unusually high spirits this morning.
Could it be that Lady Almidah is the reason for such
inspiration?”
“Yes indeed. She is truly stunning, young and fresh.”
“Are you concerned at all of any ulterior motives she
may have?”
“Not one bit. It has been my experience that pretty
faces are short on smarts, if you know what I mean.” He
taps on the side of his head with one finger and laughs.
“I’m certain that you’ve heard rumors that she contains
a substantial amount of brains as well as beauty.”
“I can handle her. Believe me Councilman Linius.
Besides, I might enjoy a challenge for a change. I’ll have
her as tame as a household pet. You know what I mean.
After all, I am King Mohl of the Emor and there is no
better aphrodisiac than this.” The King grabs a goblet
from a servant’s tray and takes a drink, which makes his
lips pucker.
“I hope you’re right, Sire. Don’t forget you have
an important meeting with the chief of military early
tomorrow morning. You know how impatient the council
can be.” Linius walks away while shaking his head.
King Mohl goes about his business humming.
# she goes to her dressing room and calls upon her maids.
“Almidah now wears a crown Mame! What does it mean?”
Asks Cavan.
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 57
“She has won the seat next to the throne of Emor. She is
now queen”, answers Muira.
#
The moon’s reflections come alive once more. The soft
shuffle of Almidah’s feet could be heard as she hurries into
the castle where King Mohl sleeps. Almidah enters and
carefully slides into the bed of her husband the king, while
he snores. He stirs only for a moment. She has her back to
him as the sun rises. She hears him yawn and rise. His hand
reaches over to touch her shoulder and she cringes.
“My queen, which party did you have the pleasure of
visiting last night?”
Her eyes open wide in disbelief, still not looking at
him, she gains her composure.
She stretches casually, looks him in the eye and
says, “My dear king, it was only at the home of the new
commander of the watch; the one with the looks of a god.
After all, I cannot always be expected to talk to a mule.
He’s a much better choice than the poor girls whose favor’s
you seek.”
His face reddens but he laughs as if what she said is
ludicrous. “My loving wife, do not make me look bad in
front of the court, or I will have to put you over my knee.”
She rolls her eyes at him and puts on her robe.
“Don’t you want to stay a little while with me here?”
He asks hope filled.
“I do not have time for your nonsense. I have a meeting
with Phelan, my coconspirator.”
“That’s what I like about you. Your honesty,” he says
sarcastically. “You could have everything of my kingdom,
only if you would truly love me.”
“I do not love you. I am your queen only. Yet I shall
have it entirely my dear. On this you may count.” With that
The king sits at the edge of the bed and sighs.
Almidah moves about the court. “Phelan, I cannot
 58 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
stand to be queen to this Mohl anymore. He is too weak a
man to provide heirs to his kingdom, and I don’t want to
share the king’s life any more!”
“Calm yourself down my sweet Almidah. It won’t be
too much longer now. He isn’t paying much attention to
matters of the state now that you have filled the castle
with so many beautiful young maids. Your brother Marco
is now securely the head of the military, and council is
nearly fed up with the King due to his lack of interest in
current happenings. We’ve successfully replaced many of
the King’s advisors with our own trusted lackeys. You shall
not wait much longer.”
Tears well up in her eyes as she clutches Phelan, “He
is so weak, so truly detestable, I am noxious every day
thinking about sharing our royal lives.” He puts one arm
around her and kisses her forehead. “You will be another’s
queen very shortly, I promise. And then the Emor shall
have the kingdom of Cetura in the bargain.”
The reflections off the water advance in time.
Almidah sits at the head of table with her Emorian
counselors, a group of women and men whose power and
influence kept the kingdom wealthy and thriving. A large
oblong wooden table with seating for twenty people is
filled. Phelan sits to the right.
“Your highness, now that King Mohl has passed away
and you’ve taken his place, we need to discuss something
of great importance with you,” speaks an elder man,
Constable Giddeon.
“An island far in west of here is known as the land of
Mahr. This place appears to be thriving with gold to be
found in the streams and rivers, an abundance of cattle, in
addition to slaves. We have been trading with the people
of this island for sometime now. It is becoming highly
developed and self-sufficient. It seems to me, that this
island’s resources would easily increase the wealth of our
nation.” Several of the counselors nod in agreement.
“This is all very interesting Constable Giddeon. I have
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 59
heard of this nation and it seems worthy of consideration,
this Mahr.” Responds Almidah.
“King Mohl depleted many of our resources foolishly
on charity for the poor and the rest he practically gave
away. I think overtaking Mahr will help to replenish your
economic standing, Almidah,” Phelan comments.
“They don’t seem to be a much of a threat at all. My
treasury will be all the more heavy for it. So it is decided
then. We shall make further plans for our attack of Mahr.
This will be in the very near future. But first my royal
marriage to Dunbar of the Cetura.”
#
Mame, this woman has another husband! How can she
marry so soon?”
“Cavan, some women take on a husband as you change
your sandals and them with no more caring than that.”
“Maeve, herself must have been most put off by this queen
Almidah. For as sure as the tellings are chosen by herself that
we see.”
Muira continues as the reflections show much of the past.
“The need for royal progeny to maintain the throne have to
be provided by other than Dunbar who will also prove to be a
weakling of a king. So, Almidah begins a campaign with worthy
consorts from neighboring kingdoms. To the near north lay a
harsh war like people. The brother of the lord of this land would
father a girl child with Almidah. This girl, Olga would be as
ambitious as her muther, but was lacking her muther’s refined
beauty. Olga would become crueler than Almidah.
Almidah’s first born would be a boy from a dashing well-
bred warrior, who was the youngest son of the chieftain of a
nation of great commerce to the south. It was said that this
young prince was Almidah’s only true love. Almidah doted on
this boy child, Poalo and intended him to inherit the throne.
The second and youngest son of Almidah was born to the
brother of the King Dunbar. This son of Almidah would be a
great leader of the Emor. This boy was pressed into service as
 60 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
a military commander. The people of Emor loved the young
prince, Lunn. Almidah had secured her hold on the lands an
adjacent to the valleys of the great white mountains.”
#
More images appear in the moon’s reflection.
“You stupid girl! What have you done to my hair?” Olga
yells and stands up to slap the maid in the face.
“When I am queen, I shall have you fed to the rats!”
The young maid stands holding her face, determined
not to cry.
“Don’t stand looking at me, fix it.” Olga sits back in her
chair huffing. “Fix it like my mama’s.”
The girl combs through the knots, being extra careful.
The hair is thick and course, unlike the smooth glossiness
of her muther’s hair, but the maid is able to create some
resemblance and is quite pleased.
“That’s better. Why do you look so smug?”
“I’m glad it pleases you,” speaks the girl.
“Well don’t get so full of yourself over it.” Olga stares
in the girl’ face.
“You’re so ugly it makes me sick.” She offers a swift kick
to the girl’s shin sending her down and crying. Olga’s face is
contorted and she kicks the girl again. The young princess
walks out the door to meet her muther for dinner.
“Olga darling, your hair looks lovely,” Almidah says
pleasantly to her as she sits down to the dinner table.
“Thank you mama.”
“Poalo, where is Lunn? Why is he late for dinner?”
“He has to tend to his horses, but he’ll be here for
dinner.” They dine at the oval table when Lunn comes in
and joins them.
“Lunn, I have some very good news for you.”
“What is it my queen, my muther?”
“I found a beauty for you. A blond girl from the north
near the mountains has arrived. She is from a wealthy
family, and she is absolutely stunning.”
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 61
“I don’t know what to say,” he smiles, pretending to be
interested.
“Her and her family are coming to dinner tomorrow,
so you will get a chance to meet her. I’ve spoken with her
briefly, and she is very bright and gentle. She shall make an
excellent wife.” Almidah is more pleased for herself than
for her son.
“That’s wonderful, I am looking forward to it.”
“Mama, what about me, when shall I get married?
“I am already ten and six summers old.” Asks the
princess.
“Soon enough my dear Olga.” Almidah looks down
at her plate and takes a bite of pork. Olga sits for a
moment, waiting for more to be said on the topic. Her
muther continues eating and Olga sinks into to her seat
disappointed.
“Oh, and Lunn, one more thing. I’m thinking of
sending you and some troops to Mahr. I think it will be
rather unchallenging for you.”
“Of course muther. I will gladly do it. I think General
Doir should come too. He’s very trustworthy and wise in
these matters.”
“Shall I go muther?” Asks Poalo.
“No, I shall need you here.”
#
“What an ugly mean girl! How can she be related to that
beautiful queen”, asks Cavan.
“Children wear the love of their parents. Their form and
health are gifts from the spirits. Your handsome looks Cavan
show the pleasure of Maeve, the muther spirit with you.
Almidah was long insecure and feared the treachery of
others. She employed many to watch over those near her, and
in courts of lands conquered, or yet to be so. Olga was skilled
at the ways of gathering the secrets of others. Olga was a great
confidant of Almidah. The princess was often emissary to
neighbors of Almidah’s kingdom. Here Olga by bribery and
 62 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
sedition laid the seeds of Almidah’s conquest. Information on
the resources of the foreign land, the strength of its army and
principle fortifications were all gathered.
Internal malcontents were solicited for service to Almidah’s
ambitions.
As Almidah’s empire approached the sea, more word was
brought to Olga of the island of riches. Such is the indigenous
wealth of the island that the children wear gold in fields as they
work. The population of the whole island is small compared to
most seaports that border Almidah’s empire.
Now Almidah’s army was quite large and busy, keeping
order over her expanding empire. With formations of chariots,
horsemen, archers, and men afoot with sword and spears, the
army was unconquerable on the mainland. Almidah’s forces
had no experience at sea or invasion from the sea. But Almidah
knew that soon her domain would occupy much of the coast
of the mainland and ships, and sailors would be at the army’s
disposal. Her conquest of this small island people would not be
far from coming.
“Tell me of Emor?” Asks Cavan.
#
Maeve, spirit of the lake responds.
“The vast land over the sea runs long east towards the
great White Mountains from which the sun rises each day.
Many nations of large proportions unimaginable to the
Chead are shown across the sea as they reach as far north
and south as one may sail.
The people of these distant places are bound in speech
and custom. They are as different from the Chead as the
land they make home. Ice and cold lie in the north. Heat
and dryness lie in the south. These people live as neighbors
with far more ease of access to one another there then do
we to the Chead. This makes war and treaty with several
peoples at once a possibility.
Several great rivers run from the distant White
Mountains to the ocean shore from where the ships of
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 63
great nations reach Cliath. The number of any one of these
nations shall fill many villages much larger than Cliath.
The possible enemies are formidable. Now Poalo
has taken Almidah’s place, and Emor now lies dormant.
Olga is being kept locked away in a dungeon to the south.
Poalo, whom she attempted to murder, placed her in the
dungeon.
Originally, a people of dark hair, hazel eyes and olive
skin escaped from a war raging about the shores of a warm
blue sea from the far side of the White Mountains. They
are cunning and aggressive by nature. By arrangement
of marriage and brutal assaults they came to power over
a small peaceful tribe living in the valleys of the White
Mountains. They formed a great and powerful empire that
threatened all including the island of Mahr. This empire is
known as Emor. This powerful empire now stands under a
treaty of peace.
The Emor under Almidah spread from mountain
meadow down along the rivers to the sea. They then moved
north and south by conquest of arms or treaty till no single
nation stood against them.
#
The growing darkness pushes the last blue of the day’s
sky to the very edge of the horizon. Directly above Muira and
Cavan the brightest stars are emerging. A soft lean mist gathers
at the feet of the Druid pair.
“Will I ever be able to call Maeve as you, Mame?”
“Yes, when your practice as a Druid is much longer!”
“Maybe some day I’ll become a spirit such as Maeve!”
“My dear Cavan you are already much a spirit!”
 CHAPTER III
Níor chaill fear an mhisnigh riamh é.
The man of courage never lost it.

The old Druidess stands before the lake of Maeve with hers arms
outstretched. She looks up at the full bright moon.
“Goddess of the night’s sky hear me. We who serve you are
the children of Maeve. Stay your reflection on the water until
our present work is done. Aide our search for knowing this
night.”
Muira looks to Cavan. “The time of passage from one warm
season to the next is given by the Sun god, and it is marked by
 68 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
the stones of the Druid circle. The passage of the night during
the Sun’s annual journey is made by twelve comings of the night
goddess as a full moon, which are also foretold in the markings
of the Druid circle. The seasons of the year are thus divided,
and announced.
It is also foretold that upon a rare year, the moon goddess
will visit the night sky for the thirteenth time. This is such a year,
and this is such a night for the moon goddess’ thirteenth visit.
Every Druid upon every shore will this night keep themselves in
the presence of the moon goddess for her appearance is deemed
to be a time of great foretelling.”
“Is this why the men keep guard about us, mame?” Cavan
is most anxious.
“Ah, my good dear boy it is so! For there are those in life
and spirit that fear the times of foretelling, and will strike at we
who seek knowledge that they do not want known. No harm
shall come to us while Oiche watches!”
“Mame, why didn’t Uncle Oiche become a Druid?”
“When I first held my son in my arms, I knew Oiche was
called to become a ruler of men and a leader in war. Cavan, your
uncle was the grandest baby born in the land of the Giollabhain,
or the land of the Chead. His length and weight were of the size
of baby nearly ready to stand himself up. His tiny grip on my
fingers was strong and sturdy. Your grandfather was so proud
that he carried his grand baby Oiche from one friend’s house to
the next showing his son’s great size.
The night of my first son’s birth, the dark sky was big and
filled with countless points of light from horizon to horizon.
Many balls of fire with tails of many colors crossed the sky that
night. It was unlike any night ever before seen by the people
of the island. The Druid make claim that on such a nights the
spirits of the sky are moving about due to some great change
within the cosmos, an omen of things to come.
Upon this night of Oiche’s coming, one great piece of the
sky streamed down upon the land as one bright ember of fire
with many bursts of white and blue flame. Heaven’s power had
struck the earth that night. All marveled at the night sky.
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 69
During this night, amidst my great cries of pain from
birthing, Hugh Mohr appeared to me. I was alone within my
cottage, just before the midwives arrived. Egan had gone to
fetch them. Hugh carried a flask of water from the spring,
which still flows on top of the golden meadow.
Drink this lost child to ease your burden and bring forth
your new son this very night. Within three days, a piece of the
sky sent by the gods above will be handed to you. This gift is for
your child. When in your possession it comes, that is the night
you are to call upon me. To do otherwise is to cause your child
in life to fall into great hardship.
With this message Hugh was gone. Soon after, the midwives
arrived and attended to me in my bed. The contractions were
getting closer together; we were up almost all through the
night. Before dawn, Oiche was born and let out a great big
whopping cry. His curly hair so red it looked as if it was on fire.
He swung his fist around as if ready for a fight. Egan, the proud
father, lit the bonfire of new life upon the hill to shine to the
village below.”
“Oh! How I wished I could have seen that night!” Cavan
exclaims.
“Indeed you may…by the asking of Maeve upon the water.
Just ask her as you would your muther, Rialta.”
Cavan steps to the water’s edge and casts his stare into the
moon’s reflection. “Maeve dear, may I see Uncle Oiche’s night
of birthing?”
With these words the mist frame’s the moon’s image upon
the water. A soft warm breeze caresses Cavan’s face. Cavan feels
an embrace much as when Rialta’s arms held him to sleep at
night.
#
Past life stirs once again in the moon goddess’
reflection. That very same night of Oiche’s birth, deep
within the enchanted forest, Eta and her fairy companions
watch the turmoil in the sky. Eta watches from the opening
of her cave, and is both fascinated and fearful of the
 70 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
brilliant colored streaking flames passing through the sky.
Quigley, Monty and Mab are chattering frantically. Mab
claims that the gods of the sky only move so to warn of
coming events.
“The last comings down from the sky brought a great
fire into the forest. This was long before the wee folk came
in to the forest to dwell,” says Monty.
“Many of the animals of the forest died in the flames.
Many were dear friends to us,” says Mab sadly.
“What is the cause for these happenings,” asks Eta.
“They are burning rocks of great hardness, stronger
than the metal spears made by the Chead,” answers
Monty.
“These rocks are said to make an irresistible strong
love potion that no one can resist,” adds Quigley with a
snigger.
“They most certainly do not! What lunacy is this,
Quig? This is no time for your foolery!” Mab scolds.
“Shut your cob, Quig, or I’ll whack you into tomorrow,”
adds Monty.
“They are thrust onto the earth. Sometimes they split
the trees as they fall. They smell of evil and glow a soft red
color as if they have traveled a far distance from a place
forever away,” offers Mab.
“Have you seen these rocks that fell from the sky,” asks
Eta.
“Oh yes! Many times as we pass near the mountain of
the Banshee,” Mab states as his two companions nod in
agreement.
“It seems that the Banshee collect such treasures and
covets that the power of the sky is stored within these sky
rocks,” Mab continues.
As they speak, their attention is diverted to the sight
of a great ball of flame passing over Eta’s cave into the
enchanted woods. Eta instructs her fairies to find this rock
and bring it at once to her cave.
“Let no Pouka gather this one piece of the sky for we
shall hide it within our cave.”
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 71
With that command the three fairies fly off within a
wink of an eye in the direction of the fiery brand. By and by,
this same night the trio returns to Eta’s cave with a piece of
scorched blackened rock the size of large man’s fist.
“We found this at the bottom of a lake at the far end of
the forest near the land of the Chead,” reports Monty.
The banshee is all about the woods searching for the
fallen treasure. But as the banshee has no power in water,
the sky rock is safe from her until retrieved from the pool.
Safe it is to be in the cave for now.
Eta ponders all the next day and the day after what
to do with the sky rock besides the keeping of it from
the Banshee, which may prove to be foolhardy. “For sure
some good must be made of the blasted thing,” she says to
herself.
On the third day Eta is told by wee people of the
enchanted woods of the birth of Muira’s son, Oiche.
“And Muira would be knowing best what to do with
such a thing, besides no banshee here would be coming in
to the home of a Druidess such as herself.”
With this notion, Quigley appears altogether in the
form of a great beast of a dog and carries the sky rock to
the door of Muira’s cottage. On the third day of Oiche’s life
the rock from the sky is in Muira’s possession.
#
Muira continues the tale beside the lake with Cavan.
“That night, after all in the house were sound asleep, I
went to the window and called softly, Hugh Mohr, your lost
child Muira has need of you. Almost at the instant of my last
word Hugh stepped out of the reeds in the garden into the light
of the new moon.”
“A rock from the sky has Muira, says Hugh. Only the wee
people can make from it something good. Hugh will take it to
be his own, and on the day of your Oiche’s thirteenth year, the
rock will come back to Muira for Oiche only. This must be so
Muira, if you are Hugh’s true friend.”
 72 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
“With this said, Hugh asked for the sky rock and several
strands of my baby boy’s red hair. I obliged and Hugh was off.”
“As Oiche grew, he was always of extra size, strength and
superior intelligence for his age. He grew in compassion as well,
always lending a hand to someone in need. This man once lifted
a fallen horse off a fellow villager who had a tumble. Oiche was
never found using his physical strength or intelligence as an
advantage over those less capable than himself. For as big as he
is, his heart is bigger yet.”
“Oiche was a very quick study. He learned the lessons from
your grandfather and me without repeating,”
“His character is sweet and good and he makes friends
with all that come to know him. His friends have always been
devoted to him and they never fail to solicit his advice on
personal matters of any sort.”
“As a boy, Oiche demonstrated his ability to wreak havoc
and fear among a fierce bunch of mischief-makers. This band
would torment the less fortunate of our clan and bully the
young ones. Once Oiche came upon them while the group of
youths was playing the game ‘King of the Mountain’. The five
of them occupied the top of a single grassy knoll set amid an
open field while another group of challengers was to push them
off entirely to win a point. However, the challengers didn’t have
a chance. The challengers were usually forced to play by the
group or get beat up on until they eventually played anyway.
The occupying group would kick and punch at their opponents
if they got too close. Oiche and his smaller friends challenged
this group of older youths.”
Cavan interrupts. “May I see my uncle play this game?”
#
The reflection of the moon gives answers.
“My, my, what have we got here,” replies the leader of
the nasty boys while he eyes Oiche. He lets go of one young
boy’s tunic whom he has been punching. The boy drops to
the ground and takes his opportunity to escape.
“You have a challenger,” Oiche says boldly.
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 73
“You think you’re big and tough, well then, come
on and let’s have at it! We’ll kick yours and your scrawny
friends arse up and down this hill!” One of the boys yells
loudly.
Young Oiche could easily push any one youth off the
knoll, but his band was individually too week to overcome
the larger youths to win. After several tries straight on, the
youthful Oiche directs his men into a left and right flank
about himself.
Oiche’s plan is to charge the center hilltop at the
strength of the opposition by himself, while the right
flank pretends to attack in order to draw some of the
occupiers partially off the hill thus splitting the opponents
formation.
Oiche charges the center of the hill bowling over two
of the larger defenders including their leader who fall
backwards, stunned entirely. On the right, Oiche’s smaller
friends dodge punches, and kicks while they pull the legs
out from under the defenders. The left flank pushes in a
coordinated move with a unified single shove and dispels
any occupier not in the clutch of Oiche. There is one
straggler left standing, and he just looks at the size of
Oiche, and flees the hill and the rest follow suit. Not one of
the defenders stands upon the hilltop. The larger lads look
at Oiche atop the knoll as they retreat.
Oiche and his smaller group win the hill despite
overwhelming odds.
#
“I suppose that those bullies got to see the true size of my
son at the top of the hill,” she laughs to herself. “As I watched
my son during this event, I marveled at the pride of the lesser
youths in their victory. Oiche became a hero among the very
young Giollabhain before he was able to leave our home.”
“Mame, tell me about Oiche’s thirteenth birthday, what
did Hugh Mohr do with the sky rock?”
“As you know Cavan, in our thirteenth year we pass from
 74 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
child into adulthood. Oiche was to enter military service with
the King Loch of Chead. This was the best military training
on the island. My father interceded with the King, for the
Giollabhain are rarely permitted to serve in such a way.
The night of Oiche’s thirteenth birthday, Hugh appeared
to me.
“Hugh has come to Muira with his fairy’s work dun. For
thirteen years this rock I have hammered. Oiche’s hair it holds
within. This amulet he must bear.”
With that said, Hugh handed to me a shiny spear’s blade
made from the sky rock itself. The blade fit in the palm of a
large man’s hand with an edge so sharp it would cut through
any metal. Egan would fashion a shaft from oak and mount the
blade for his son’s first spear.”
“Now, I presented this gift to Oiche as he left for his
military service. Oiche was told that the blade had power from
the heavens and by the work of the fairies it would be his to use.
Under no circumstance must he use it’s power against the wee
folk or it’s magic would be taken back from himself forever. It
was indeed his duty to protect the wee people about Cliath, as
he was obliged personally to their leader Hugh Mohr.
The magic spear that Oiche carries gives him safe passage
through the enchanted forest. He is to be safe from the
banshee herself as long as he keeps off her mountain altogether.
Furthermore, Oiche was told that this gift was found by Eta of
the magic woods. And as favor to her, he is never to hunt in her
part of the enchanted woods being that her friends travel in
animal form there.”
“Did Oiche like being in Cliath when he first arrived by
himself Mame?”
“Oh yes Cavan. He told me he was a bit sick of not coming
home right off, but the sights, sounds, and smells of the thriving
port thrilled him. He met up with many people from foreign
places and made new friends which sped the time away from
him and he was back to his home as quick as you please.”
Cavan giggles at Muira’s consoling sense of time. But
Muira sees the gaze of hesitation in the young boy’s eyes. Muira
proceeds to reassure her grandson.
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 75
“Oiche was trained in several duties in service to the king.
First was the duty in Cliath of guarding the business of the port.
Here Oiche came to know the ships from many nations; he was
quick to learn the languages of the major countries that came
to trade. At least enough of any language is being spoken on the
docks of Cliath to assist in the business of the day.
He observed the different ways the visitors dressed and
the strange new tastes of the foods cooked about the docks
were great delights to Oiche. He made many friends among the
sailors and the merchants of many lands. He was told stories
of far off lands, the ways, means and times of passage to places
across the sea. Oiche was instructed first hand about the many
ways of life on the mainland.
The most deplorable duty in Oiche’s time of service was the
guarding of the pens in Cliath, that hold the children bound for
sale as slaves. His compassion on the many little ones brought
there, gave him to bring what extra food he could manage and
straw for bedding that he could collect. But the suffering was
too great for any man with as big a heart as his.”
“Why do the Chead sell children Mame?”
“For as long as there is sickness that ends the life, and
creates poverty, and war, there are children left behind with no
one to care for them. It is a hard life; also great is the need for
additional helpers on farms and such at hard times. Only the
rich can keep their family in such a way, as few are the children
to be found for taking as slaves.
Our island’s remoteness has long been a boon to the
business. Children stolen from one part of the main and, are
taken here to be sold to other places. There came to be kept in
the slave pen, one young girl of blond hair for the selling. Young
she was but she was of marrying age. Despite her worn dirty
appearance, she had a bearing and soft presence with gentle and
comforting ways. It was said her sale would bring much wealth.
Oiche watched her day after day, night after night as he
kept guard over the holding pens near the docks of Cliath. The
more he observed this woman child, the more her worth grew
in his eyes. He came to learn she was from a land far north from
 76 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
the shore across the sea. Her village and family had been lost to
war. The thought of the loss of her sailing off to a distant place
disturbed Oiche greatly. He had no goods or wealth to offer her.
No one would dare fight him over her. There seemed to be no
way to save this girl let alone a way to make her his bride. The
idea of a bride was new to him. Oiche recognized that he was
now fully a man!”
“Can I watch Uncle Oiche as a young warrior?” Asks
Cavan.
# Oiche pleads. “My sovereign, in order to prepare my
Maeve’s water and the moon goddess comply.
It so happened at this time, the king of Cliath is much
aware of the young, strapping Oiche. The word of his
power and the magic in his spear give much weight upon
the king to place Oiche in his services. The king is aware
of his popularity among his troops, his people and even
the foreigners who visited Cliath. The king is also aware of
Oiche’s family relationships among the Druid themselves
and his curiosity about Oiche grows with each story told to
him by his men.
In council with the Master Druid, the king asks for
advice. “What is to be the future for Oiche upon the
island?”
The Master Druid offers to the king. “Let Oiche
choose the first steps in his own path to the future.” The
Master Druid acknowledges to the king.
“Oiche is destined to be a great force among nations.
He is from a family of powerful Druid.” He warns the king
that Oiche must be dealt with in terms such greatness.
“A young one with great powers and resources to the
spirit world is to be put to good use!” Advises the Master
Druid.
Immediately the king summons Oiche into his council.
Oiche is greatly honored.
“Your present service to Cliath and myself is welcomed.
As king, I wish you to be best prepared for the future. Tell
me what path do you see that you must follow.”
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 77
Oiche knows that the king offers a great opportunity.
Oiche replies. “My will is to continue to serve as I am
asked. After my obligatory time in your army I should like
to offer to all of Cliath and your lordship my future service
in some great task.”
“You are a man of great strength and integrity, and I
shall indeed, place you in such circumstances in which your
representation of our country will be most useful. I am in
your debt and welcome you to my court.” Speaks the king.
future I am in present need of a wife but have no means.
Presently, allow me to continue my training and service.
Procure for me a woman of my choosing and let her serve
you here in the palace until I may repay you by a future
deed of your choosing.”
He pauses before he answers. “This you ask of me
is without precedence. Know full well that my consent
is given. She may serve you as wife but she and any child
born of her must dwell within my house until land can be
secured for you. However, she may leave only after you
complete our agreement by some great service.”
Oiche nods in agreement.
#
“That slave girl is Aunt Morgute?” Asks Cavan.
“The king paid the slave girl’s price and put her to service
in the royal kitchen. Oiche and the slave girl would have three
children while they were under service to the king. All would be
sons of great size just as their father.” Muira confirms.
“Now after some years on the docks and the pathways
about Cliath those with experience in service to the king’s army
are assigned duties across the lands of island belonging to the
Chead. So Oiche began to patrol villages most distant from
Cliath. On these treks, he came to learn much of the west of
the island and the people.
In the most distant part of the west was to be found an
ancient ringed fort built a time long ago by a people long lost
 78 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
and forgotten. The land about is flat, dry and wind blown. The
western part of the island is open and easy access by sea. Here
amid the old fort a small hand full of the king’s guard kept
watch for sea raiders from the distant north. These raids have
been a reality of life since the time before the ancient fort’s
construction.
The raiders come for plunder and sport. The attacks
from the sea are vicious and the people there suffer. The King
of Cliath could not support a western force large enough to
protect all that lived and farmed there. Small bands of northern
bandits would land at night and attack without warning from
the seashore. Larger numbers of marauders would sojourn deep
inland for great plunder and many Chead would lose their life
or freedom in such attacks. During these attacks, they were
stripped of what few possessions they had, women were abused
and villages plundered.
The king’s guard could only make a small show of their
presence by day along the shoreline. The armed guard could
respond only by offering a fortified retreat to the Chead upon
the time that a large band of raiders continued their infiltration
for days upon the isle.”
“More please, Maeve?”
#
It happens that while on patrol in the west, Oiche
passes into a remote seaside village of the Chead. It
seems that upon the last storm to wash the coast, a young
fisherman was lost from the last boat making its way home
from the sea. The young sailor has left a wife, three small
children and a small-unpaid debt to a bully of a man in the
village. Now the king’s law provides that an unpaid debt to
be settled by way of placing one or all of the debtor’s family
into slavery for payment of the debt.
Although the size of the debt is quite small and as
the land is poor, no one wants more hungry mouths to be
feeding. The debtor is a hard man and is insisting that the
woman’s children be taken, one or all for sale to Cliath to
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 79
pay the debt. In addition, he wants her to work under his
roof to clean and cook for him. Once more, this is proper
under the king’s law.
The young widow woman is hysterical. She says, “I’ll
kill any wretch whose hand reaches for a child of mine. Let
me be having my husband’s place at sea until the fish run
and the debt be settled as agreed.”
But the greedy bully sees only an opportunity to collect
the debt and make the additional profit from a child’s sale.
Oiche is overpowered by the piteous site of the woman
who is quite plain looking and her three very young ones
of hers are barely new at walking. He wants the debt to be
settled and the lost sailor’s family left suitably provided.
No other party in the village or there about is soon to take
a debt with the black heart of the likes of the one standing
over the woman now.
Oiche has no choice but to pay the debt at once and
take on the care of the widow and her children by himself
or he will have to take them all straight off to the slave pens
of Cliath. The amount of the debt is a barrel of fish or the
equal. Oiche strikes a deal with the debtor.
“Payment to be accepted as two barrels of pork to be
made good within a week.”
Now the flat land of the west is full of brush and briars
and wild boar roaming at the plenty. But the openness
of the land makes the hunting of the wily beast nearly
impossible. Oiche has the idea of making a deep circular
pit in a clearing of trees next to the field where the great
boars are fond of foraging. Here the smell, the sound and
the scent of an intruder give early notice to the beast and
they are quite dangerous in such circumstances. The boars
are large, some nearing the size of a small cow in height and
nearly twice the weight.
All through the night, while the pigs sleep in their
boroughs, Oiche prepares his trap. He digs a large pit
covered over with patches of brush and makes a swing
of vine to carry him safely across to the other side of the
 80 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
pit. Oiche climbs atop a tree above the pit and looks out,
seeking for the great boar moving about with her brood.
It was not long before the movement of many hoofs
and snorts fill the air from a short distance away at the
opposite side of the field with gently sloping hills. They
graze and play while the muther eats grass and root.
Oiche climbs down the tree quietly, and focuses his
attention on three piglets wondering off a ways from the
muther. He covers himself with manure so as not to alert
the muther beast and heads toward the side of the field
where the piglets graze. He turns the shaft of his spear so
that its fairy blade rotates in the light of the sun to catch
the pig’s eye. When he is within twenty feet from them, he
charges toward them with his spear and impales one of the
boars. It lets out a loud anguished squeal, and in an instant
the muther boar is heading in his direction.
In one fast charge of fury, the huge boar makes straight
towards him with her tusks erect and her squealing brood
behind her. Any thread of caution in the sow gives way to
the frenzy of a charging pack of ravenous pigs. The bunch
races out in mass onto the thatch covering the pit. Oiche
dares not look behind, for a moments delay may cost him
his life. He grabs hold of the swing and hears the cries of
the brood behind him as they fell into the pit.
Here Oiche slays the great sour with his spear and
holds captured seventeen young suckling. The meat from
the female boar fills four barrels for that’s how large is she.
Oiche pays the widow’s debt. The woman and her
three children, two barrels of pork and piglets would find
their way to a new home in the old ring fort of the west. The
widow would by and by be taken as Oiche’s second wife.
She would bear several large sons as well.
# #
“Aunt Neeva! She has plenty of pigs at home yet!” Cavan
loves this tale.
“With such as Oiche to provide at the fort, life there
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 81
about soon prospered. Such prosperity however would come
sooner or later under the watch of the raiders from the north.
One night a large band from the north came ashore to raid the
north west of the Chead, looking for slaves and plundering the
small village on the coast. Many of the people fled the village
and were quick to find the way to Oiche’s Fort, as it had come
to be known. For sure Cavan, the fort still carries Oiche’s name
to this day.”
“What happened to the raiders, Mame?”
“The raiders, as any pack of predators, were following
the fresh tracks of those fleeing in search of children to seize
and goods to thieve. They camped in the hollow of a hillside;
Oiche realized this to be so. He set out in the darkest of nights
with several of his most hearty men to find the campfires of
the invaders, which were not far from the coast. For sure, the
brigands were used to having their own way and feared none
that might come against them.
The noise of the drunken raiders in their camp and the
many fires ablaze cooking confiscated meat made the finding of
them that much easier. Oiche and his men painted their naked
bodies with ancient Druid signs in red and black from the juice
of berries, as is the custom for many years now. Just after the
camp went to sleep Oiche’s band encircled. They passed quietly
through the camp binding the sleeping raiders’ hands with
rope. Some men had to be gagged as they woke.
At the camp’s center Oiche’s spear came to rest upon the
chest of the leader of the invaders. With hoots and howls the
Chead warriors awakened the camp. The few raiders not bound
were quick to surrender their arms when they went to challenge
the Chead who held captive their leader in the camp’s center.”
They two Druid gaze beside the lake. They view this scene
in the moon’s reflection.
Captive raiders are to be sent bound to Cliath to face
the king’s justice. There are forty or so men captured this
night. The leader of the raiders is a rough dark blond haired
 82 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
man named Kendal. He wears a necklace made from the
claws of a great beast unlike anything worn by the people
of the island of Mahr.
“This amulet of claw,” says Oiche to his captured
counterpart, “has it much power?”
“The power is not to the one who wears it, but to the
one who slew the beast,” answers Kendal.
“I have a deal for you, Kendal.” Oiche has the man
stand up. “If you and several men of your choosing, stay the
for the remainder of the summer at the fort and tell me of
your people and your ways, then you may return freely to
your home. Or if you prefer, be sacrificed up to the spirits,”
offers Oiche.
Kendal hesitates, “I will be missed from my father’s
kingdom if I am to be sacrificed. So, as I am in your debt, I
shall comply with your offer and share with you the ways of
my people in Estara. However, I must send the remainder
of my men back to their families and let my people know
that I shall be returned safely to them by the end of the
season. I have a family waiting for my return.”
“You are a prince, yet you spend your time plundering?
Why is that so?” Oiche is confused.
“It is because of the Emorians, whose empire lies to
the southeast of my land. They have drained all wealth
out of nearby lands, including ours. Yet, Mahr remains
untouched. I don’t think it will be over looked for too much
longer. We have virtually nothing left, many of my people
are starving.”
Oiche is much impressed by the frankness of this
leader. In a great gesture of generosity, Oiche arranges for
thirty bags of grain and much chattel for the king’s men to
take home in exchange for his men’s time at his fort.
The two leaders from different worlds speak of life
through the season. Each learns much from the other and
Oiche makes a long lasting friendship with his captive,
Lord Kendal. In the spring, the raiders sail home on their
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 83
immense boat with the serpent’s head at the bow. Oiche
keeps Lord Kendal’s claw amulet as booty.
#
“I hope to visit Oiche’s fort in the west some day,” says
Cavan.
“We all shall be going off to the west for Oiche’s eldest son
will be marrying before long,” answered Muira. “Let me finish
the tales of Oiche.” She continues.
“The last part of Oiche’s required service to the King
would be as guard at Holy Oak. He made his way with his
second wife and family to Cliath to join his first wife, here to
be kept under the same conditions as the first family with the
King Drummond until he succeeded in a special task yet to be
named by the king.”
“Oiche’s duties at the Holy Oak began with the meeting
of the Druid Master, Barnabas, in an inner sanctum where
only the privileged may enter. Here, only King Drummond of
Cliath may enter at the Master Druid’s request. Upon a chair
of oak and gold sat a small-weakened man of years no longer
countable. His years were many, but he sat erect and alert.”
“This tale must be seen!” Cavan is excited.
#
“Come closer young one, son of Muira, let me
get a closer look at you. Yes! You have the look of your
grandfather. He served me many years and was a favorite
student of mine. Muira has not been to see us for some
time now young one. She makes the day very special with
her warm presence. What name has Muira given you lad?”
Barnabas speaks only in a whisper.
“I am called Oiche, your Excellency, as I was born on a
fervent, star streamed night.”
“Yes, I recall that night. It was quite a spectacle and
had all the students in an uproar. It was a most fateful
omen. Young one of Muira, your time of service here will
be short. King Drummond and all of Chead wait upon the
 84 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
time of great deeds that you are soon to undertake. Your
duty here is by my choosing. Some members of your army
have been chosen by us to join our order. Some have served
as our guards for many years.”
Barnabas continues.
“There is one task here in the Holy Grove that only you
can perform. A young student has come from far across the
sea from the last known land of the south. She is called
Soweta, and she must be escorted through the enchanted
forest to visit the Giollabhain in order to complete her
training. You are to accompany her and keep her safe.
When you return from this task, your required time with
the king’s men will be complete.”
A slender woman with short dark hair and dark skin
enters the chamber carrying a golden gourd on her head.
She is very still and her almond eyes glance demurely at
Oiche.
# “This will not do! This task requires a woman of great
Cavan interrupts. “Why a gourd of gold?”
“Because young Cavan, that which is sealed in gold is
known to last forever.There are many lands in which a king or
other powerful ruler is placed into the grave completely encased
in gold to preserve themselves entirely for the next life.”
“So mame, they want to take no chance of being poor in
the next life!”
“Precisely dear boy.”
“Does it work?” Cavan searches his grandmuther for an
answer.
“I have never witnessed it as such, nor has any ever spoken
of it to be so. Perhaps when you make your fortune you shall be
the first in our family to discover the truth.” Muira smiles at the
boy’s muse over such a possibility. “Now let’s see the tale of the
Black Druidess.”
#
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 85
Take Soweta to the enchanted forest. There she is to
fill this flask with the mist from the Banshee’s mountain
and then to give her golden flask to Muira.”
With that said, Oiche and his charge make straight off.
The young Druidess is quiet and speaks no words. Her eyes
glance coyly at Oiche.
“The mist of the Banshee Mountain is the most
profuse just before dawn, this is at a time of the great
danger, however,” Oiche informs her.
As the pair makes way slowly through the forest, Oiche
notices that the Druidess grows troubled and fearful. She
often stops complaining of sore feet or slight injury. Their
task will never be accomplished by such measures, thinks
Oiche.
Oiche feels the girl is too delicate and must be
hardened otherwise they shall fail. The more Oiche urges
the dark beauty on through difficulty, the more difficulty
the young lady finds to avoid.
strength, who is a warrior, not a coward,” rebukes Oiche.
Her almond eyes meet his. Hurt and intimidated the
Black Druidess replies.
“I need hugged and cuddled and spoiled. Not all are
brave as you, but do not underestimate my abilities! My
gentle spirit and grace help me to reach objectives where
strength will fail. You are all the toughness this task
needs!”
Oiche is speechless. Never has anyone spoken to
him as such. Never has he thought that such display of
weakness could lead to anything but defeat. Reluctantly,
he continues on and decides to trust this delicate creature.
He wonders if perhaps her softness is needed to capture
the banshee’s mist.
“How can such a little one so soft succeed,” Oiche says
to himself.
As the path grows deep and dark in the forest, the moon
shines off the magic blade of Oiche’s spear. The spirits and
 86 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
fairies of the enchanted forest know the power of the blade
and let the pair pass without harm. The banshee herself is
enraged by the intruders with the moon rock but dares not
to challenge the power of Oiche. She climbs the walls in her
cave and froths at the mouth eager to attack.
As night falls they reach the base of the Banshee
Mountain. The mist progresses gently down the
mountainside. Just before dawn the pair makes their way
through the dense mist. Oiche is lost but his charge finds
her was easily through the darkened thicket and pale
moonlight.
“Wait here Oiche, keep yourself and your spear visible
in the moonlight.”
With that the Soweta steps into the shadows where
she removes her ivory Druidess’ tunic. Nothing is to
catch the light and gain the attention of the banshee. The
slender black lady makes her way through a darkened path
effortlessly up the hill towards the mist. She carries the
golden gourd in a darkened shroud, which wraps the gourd
so that no light could find it. Softly as the mist moves,
Soweta leaves. Oiche is amazed at her grace and how
quietly she passes.
She disappears into the mist for what seems to be
a brief moment, when suddenly he hears her footsteps
like the sound of drumbeat followed by the sound of the
banshee shrieks! Only moments later, she runs to him
covered in beads of sweat and urges him to follow her
quickly.
The banshee red eyes glare and she screeches when
she sees the moon rock shaped into a spear. She howls
at the darkness in a fury because she cannot destroy the
intruders.
Oiche and the dark girl trot along a fairy path seen only
by her. She steadies the gourd on her head with one hand,
and leads Oiche through the mist with the other holding
the man’s huge hand. Straight towards Eta’s cave they head.
Quigley and crew spot the newcomers and speculate on
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 87
how it is that the banshee does not feast upon their flesh.
The fairies make off to Eta’s cave where they inform her of
the strangers in advance, and Eta prepares a welcome with
food drink and bed with in her cave.
Eta greets the pair outside the cave. Oiche knows of
Eta’s power from the telling of Muira.
“Eta, daughter of the woods, I am Oiche, son of Muira,
and this is Soweta, a Druid priestess in training. I thank
you for your help in the past and ask for yet another favor,”
Oiche announces.
“Yes, my friends here, Quigley, Monty and Mab
discovered the moon rock used to make your spear head.”
She gestures over to the three who now present themselves
as wild dogs.
“Please come in and take rest. I must go about my
business.”
Soweta tosses and turns with nightmares of the
Banshee. She wakes and Eta comforts her. Soweta trembles
with fever and is weary. When Oiche awakens to the sound
of the soft voices of Soweta and Eta talking, the sun is high
in the sky. He rises up and prepares to go, mindful of his
mission.
“I must get Soweta to muther’s while it is still
daylight.”
“You are right. I will accompany you, since Soweta’s
power to see the fairy trails only come at night. The walk
is only half a day. Soweta is feeling ill as a result of her
encounter with the Banshee. Muira will be able to help
her.”
#
This is Cavan’s the first vision of the Banshee of the
enchanted forest. He is frightened.
“Do not fear, Cavan. Our power is greater than this wicked
spirit.”
“I feel safe with you, mame…please continue.”
“Upon Oiche and Soweta’s arrival, I took the gourd for
 88 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
hiding until time for its use. Soweta, the young Druidess
recovered.
The banshee did not take well to intruders on her
mountain. In fact so great is the power of the flask and the
anger of the banshee that Soweta had to avoid the enchanted
forest altogether. Oiche kept her in his care with the protection
of his mighty spear.
“For a time Oiche stayed with me until Soweta felt strong
once more. Oiche made her his third wife, she was to sleep with
the spear close by to avoid seeing into the eyes of the Banshee.
Oiche fashioned a small boat, and they set sail from the bottom
of the falls of Giollabhain round by sea to Cliath. Here Oiche
returned Soweta, the dark lady to Holy Grove, before he
presented himself to the king and proclaimed the end of his
regular military service.”
The dark lady served as a Druidess in Cliath and gave many
children to Oiche. Some of which became warriors and others
became Druid.
“Mame, what is the purpose of the mist in the gourd?”
“Cavan, to release the mist from the gourd is to call the
Banshee forth at will. Only Soweta had the power to call upon
the Banshee since she captured the mist.”
“Well, many is the time you’ve heard it Cavan, but know
that you’ve come to be a man and the showing is all the more
grand indeed.”
#
The king is in need of a great warrior and emissary to
send north to the land of the raiders of the serpent ships
that terrorized his western lands. Indeed the king may
think of no task more worthwhile to the all the people
of Mahr, or anyone but Oiche capable of succeeding at
such peril. The king realizes that Oiche must be further
rewarded upon his return from the land of the cold winds.
“Oiche, you shall govern all the land two days walk
from the western shore upon your return a with treaty that
gives us an alliance with them. The ancient fort of the west
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 89
will be your home and your women may join you there, this
is my offering.”
The great task to which Oiche was born and to which
Hugh Mohr and Eta gave aide is to begin. Oiche is to make
way by his own self, north to the land from which the cold
winds come. This land is home to the raiders from the ships
that carry the dragon’s head. Here, Oiche must ask to meet
the king of the north and by treaty, end their armed raids
upon the island of Mahr and make covenant with them for
peace.
Oiche is to set sail from Cliath. His wives prepare
a coat made of animal skins and they pack food for his
journey. His learning of the distant lands and languages
serves him well. A small seaworthy craft suitable for a sea
voyage of much length is made. He knows from the stories
Lord Kendal, during his time in the west that he must sail
the distant shore to the north where the sea turns to ice.
There where mountain valleys and forests of pine run into
sea, he will find small villages along the shore made from
cabins of wood. Here the way to the king’s compound in an
upper mountain valley will be shown to him.
One night as Oiche sleeps, Eta, accompanied by a wild
dog appears in his dream.
“You must travel with no other man save your own
self by order of the king. Take my dog Mab with you. His
powers will aide you on your quest as no gods of the north
will favor a stranger in their midst.”
That mourning as Oiche prepares to depart upon his
great journey, the spirit Mab appears at Oiche’s small ship
in the form of a huge fierce hound. Around the dog’s neck
is collar studded with pieces of gold. This gold will serve
the traveler’s needs as they make way north from port to
port. Oiche wears the necklace of great claws and carries
his spear in his hand.
Now the time of traveling in a small swift craft upon
the sea does not allow Oiche to make great haste as he
moves north along the shores of the mainland. Oiche’s
 90 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
great size and fierce look as well as the horrible sight of
his companion beast give pause to any that might think to
do him harm as he passes northward. He stops in port to
gather supplies, to wait out a tempest, or to keep from the
sight of other craft at sea not leaving to chance to run afoul
with assailants.
Oiche and his dog sleep aboard ship and push on
as long as the winds prevail. After some months at sea,
Oiche’s ship begins to pass islands of ice adrift at sea. Mab
circles about the craft in the dark and fog to give direction
for Oiche to safely steer passage. Onward and northward
Oiche’s little ship sails until one morning they arrive at the
land of the rivers and mountain valleys known as Estara.
Nestled up inside a narrow passage of sea, between
two steep wooded ridges lay a small village. One house sits
beside the water’s edge near a green mountain meadow. A
small number of cattle with heavy hide and sheep graze on
the sparse covered ground as smoke rises from the chimney.
Several large men work upon a moored boat with sail and a
serpent’s head. A great clamor of ringing bells, barking of
hounds and shouts of alarm arise as Oiche’s ship makes its
way into the harbor.
Sturdy men and women stand along the shore with
ax, spear, or bow in hand. With a fierce gaze, they watch
Oiche’s ship approach.
Oiche and Mab walk side by side slowly from the shore
towards the villagers that yet stand quietly at the ready.
The leader of the village steps out and points to the Oiche’s
necklace made of great claws.
“How did you come by the king’s amulet of the great
bear?” He asks Oiche.
“Tis a gift from Kendal, when he visited my land
several years ago,” answers Oiche.
“I’ve come to return it to its rightful owner.”
“The rightful owner is the king of the north himself,
King Kendal.”
Everyone in the village knows that he who wears the
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 91
king’s amulet must be treated with royal hospitality. A
great feast with much drink and sport commence that day
and continues into the night to honor the presence of the
amulet of the king in the village.
The village chief is to escort Oiche up into the
mountains where the king resides. The village elders talk
of their homeland and the times they visited the island of
Mahr. Indeed, several of the women of the village were
born in lands from the south and brought to the north as
bounty. The men in the village are of large size and have
Oiche’s look. Oiche is treated as one who has come home.
The village tells Oiche of the magic of the great bear
from whom the claws were taken to make the necklace
he presently holds. This great beer had stalked the land
causing great harm. Many lives were lost to this bear. Men
from many villages were slain in the hunt. It was many
years ago that this bear was slain and the necklace of claws
given to the royal family of Kendal.
The village chief informs Oiche that today another
great bear more menacing than the last, has made it’s way
from the northern most mountains into their valleys and it
is taking animals from all the herds of the land, including
the king’s own. For several seasons the hunt for this bear
has failed and human life lost. No one’s weapon or trap has
succeeded against this great bear whose claws are said to
be larger than those found on Oiche’s necklace. In fact, the
king has decreed a royal favor to he who should slay this
bear.
Directly to the royal house goes Oiche. Upon meeting
the king, Lord Kendal of the north, Oiche returns the
necklace of claws. Kendal greets Oiche as a lost friend.
The king and his royal family give a warm welcome to
Oiche with fine foods, drink and the company of his large
family. The king is prodigious in the number of his sons
and daughters. After a time the king speaks to Oiche of the
present menace of the great bear.
“If I slay this bear will the people of this land make a
 92 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
treaty of peace with the people of the island of Mahr,” asks
Oiche.
“This will be so!” Says the king of the north laughing
in disbelief.
But a treaty is made here by royal marriage only. Oiche
must choose any two of the king’s daughters as wives to
seal the pact, which will last as long as Kendal’s royal blood
walks the land of the island of Mahr.
The following day, Oiche prepares to go to battle with
the great beast that torments the village. He asks the king
to order all the livestock from the summer fields to be
held in the stockades within the villages as custom in the
winter.
For several days after this is done, Oiche and Mab
search for signs of the bear. Approaching one village far
up the mountainside the fresh prints of the great bear are
found. Here Oiche and Mab set their plan. Oiche searches
out a great hollow tree with space enough for him to step
inside to hide his presence from the bear’s view and to keep
his scent within the tree’s trunk and away from the bear’s
great nose.
Mab is bathed in sheep’s blood and strides about the
mountain meadow amidst the breeze. Soon the great bear’s
great hunger is set upon dining on sheep this night.
After dusk, the great bear circles down wind of the
strolling Mab to close for a strike. But the spirit Mab
disappears just before the bear lunges toward him. The
bear’s anger rises with hunger and frustration, as the only
piece of meat left in the meadows is being uncooperative.
Bit by bit, Mab makes closer to the tree containing Oiche
and his magic spear.
By way of obliging, Mab snorts and bleeps in the
form of a lazy sheep to keep Oiche informed of the bear’s
progression to his tree. As the bear strides in front of the
hollow of the tree, Mab lays down, as to slumber. The great
mass of a bear stands up on two hind legs to strike down
on its prey. Out steps Oiche just feet from the bear which
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 93
is nearly twice his size. He is face to face with the beast,
and immediately thrusts the spear with the magic blade
into the behemoth’s chest. Slicing easily through the bear’s
bone and muscle, the spear cuts the bear’s heart completely
in two. The great bear attempts to strike at Oiche with its
immense claw, but is weakened from the fatal injury and
the bear falls to the ground dead.
#
“I can’t remember all Uncle Oiche’s wives names!” Says a
confused Cavan.
“It is a large task for anyone.” Muira laughs. “Oiche
removed the great claws as present to the king. The celebration
of Oiche’s triumph was carried on for several days of feasting.
The entire nation made a holiday for the end of the bear
and the royal weddings. Oiche procured his treaty by way
of royal marriage to the King’s two loveliest daughters both
tall statuesque blondes. The girls gave birth to many children
of royal blood. Oiche has freed the isle of Mahr from fierce
raiders of the north for many generations to come. The girls
also returned with Oiche with royal dowry of gold, servants and
royal guards. Many ships would carry the royal party to Mahr
and the land of the Chead. But priceless was the friendship
made with King Kendal. The ancient fort of the west became
the seat of the second great village of the Chead.
 CHAPTER IV
Níl aon tintéan mar do thin téan feín.
There is no place like home.

Suddenly the presence of an intruder at the place of the Druid

at Locherbith alarms Muira. In an instant Muira looks in the
water’s depth past the moon’s reflection and calls.
“Maeve be our protector! Let not the one who approaches
be permitted to do harm.”
Silence falls all about Cavan and his grandmuther. An
enveloping mist pours from the lake in the direction following
the path back to their camp atop a distant rise. Cavan sees
 98 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
a flash of fear in Muira’s eyes. He quickly points toward the
moon’s reflection upon the lake and commands.
“Let the one who approaches be seen in the light cast by
the moon goddess.”
The vision of a small person struggling to find way through
the shrouding mists appears. The image of a human form moves
about disoriented and confused.
“This one is lost,” says Cavan.
“This intruder is none other than your sister, Ree!” Muira
exclaims.
Cavan is first to speak into the pool of Maeve. “Make clear
the way for Ree to find us. Let no harm come to her by spirit or
beast.”
At once a great light rises from the moon’s reflection,
and the mist parts along the way from the Druid pair to the
place where Ree is lost. At once Ree sees both of their forms
illuminated by a warm light coming off the water’s surface.
Quickly she makes her way toward them. Ree seems a bit
distraught as she arrives safely at Muira’s side.
“Mame! Mame!” Ree calls out as she rushes to
grandmuther’s arms.
“What brings you here from our camp my dear,” asks
Muira most concerned.
“I fell asleep but was awaken by a great gust of wind. The
fire burned and the light faded. I put more brush upon the fire,
for a brief moment a flame ignited but only to be swallowed up
in darkness over the whole camp. It was as if light itself was
being consumed.” Ree’s face anxiously searches Muira’s for an
explanation.
Before Muira can respond Ree continues. “There was no
sound to be heard about the camp. I called out to the men but
they did not hear me. The path to the lake lies in the light of the
full moon and I rushed down, but the mist closed about me as I
neared, and I couldn’t see.”
“You acted wisely my little one.” Muira’s voice is sure and
soothing. “On the night of any full moon, and especially on the
rare moon malevolent spirits are also stirred by the presence of
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 99
the moon goddess. Mostly, they wander about getting in the
way of serious folk, but some are intent on great mischief even
violence. Many a human form is host to such a spirit for the
duration of the moon’s fullness. I fear children that a special
evil has come near to us this night.”
Muira calls out to Hugh Mhor, “Hugh gather your band
and descend hither. Take guard of the place where Muira’s
family stands this night. Send your wee folk with arms in great
numbers to keep off harm from the entire McElwain clan.”
In an instant the sound of small horses, and tiny drums
with trumpets call filled the distant hills about the lake. The
uncles of Cavan, and the camp are ringed with armies of
belligerent fairies ready for taking on any spirit that’s come to
do it’s worst.
The mist lifts from the ground and the moonlight floods
the earth. Muira’s sons make back to camp where they find a
bright roaring fire; a pig roasts on the spit, soft beds of down,
and crocks of hard drink. Muira and the young ones hear only
music and laughter streaming from the camp the whole of the
night.
“Will we see Hugh this night?” Cavan peers about for some
sight of a wee person.”Will we see any fairy at all, grandmuther?”
Ree cries in frustration for all the sounds and doings about but
not one sight of tiny hands.
“Not all the fairies will keep off from bothering Maeve and
our Druid work. And what’s more, Ree darling, you’re in the
midst of Druid practice without one sign of the Druid order.”
Muira is quick to take a golden bob from her waist and
fashion a necklace for Ree to wear.
“This night a Druidess you must appear before the spirits
else the powers of our presence will be lost. Besides it’s no place
for child or woman around men folk when the drinks are long
and hard. It’s with us you’ll be staying although your time as a
Druid be short.”
Ree is impressed with herself for keeping as a Druid with
her brother, and grandmuther. Muira is widely known as the
finest of Druid and second to none even by Cliath’s standards.
 100 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
“Cavan, your entire uncles and your muther as well have
had the benefit of the power of the fairies behind them. As one
keeps the ways of the small fairies found in the trees and bushes,
one is sure to find a friend.”
“Did any of my uncles meet Hugh Mhor, Mame?”
“There’s much to the telling of my children and the wee
folk, that’s for sure.”
“Tell us all of the wee folks doings with you, grandmuther,”
asks Ree.
“Very well children…excuse me, for the two of you must be
told as Druid.” Murie points to the place where her daughter
and grandson are to sit. She begins her present tales of the
family’s past experience with the wee folk.
“A few years passed after the birth of Oiche, and we had
a second son whom we named Leigh, as he was born after the
rains of spring had given way to the first flowers. He had brown
hair and blue eyes, a blue that only can be found in the pure
water of clear lake.
“Well, you know your Uncle Leigh. He is a dear and decent
man.” Ree says to Cavan.
“I can’t help to stare at his eyes. There is a sparkle of
innocence to his blue eyes that I’ve never seen on another.” Ree
loves her dear uncle Leigh.
“Yes, I know he likes sweet potatoes and cabbage, and likes
to ask tricky questions, and he still thinks he’s going to beat me
in a race one of these days, even though I beat him more times
than I can count!”, Cavan adds.
“Yes, you know him well enough,” Muira chuckles.
“Leigh was most quiet as a newborn. A child capable of
entertaining himself and staying busy on his own until his
muther had time for him. The darling child had little hands and
feet but the size of his newborn head was second to nun!
He was a bit clumsy as a child, and one could never keep
him neat, but he grew up witted and wise. He was always gone
from sight when one looked for him and he would reappear
unexpectedly. His grand father put him to work in the fields
long before most his age were ready. Egan would say that Leigh
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 101
had a peculiar odor about himself such that all the animals of
the fields took to the liking of him once they got hold of that
scent. And what’s more, the creatures couldn’t get enough of
the smell of the boy, as they would follow him about forgetting
the business of their own selves. Often one would see Leigh,
followed by a small parade of hounds, goats, and sheep. ‘There’s
the way of the earth in that Leigh of ours,’ Egan was fond of
saying. ‘This baby’s features have the look of another world,’
was my answer.
Indeed, his place was in the fields and among the animals
as well. Little children, being pure much like nature herself
were fond of Leigh and were like his shadow.”
“I remember muther telling stories of the wee folk and
Uncle Leigh as a baby,” says Ree. “Can you tell us one?”
Muira tells her favorite tale of Leigh. “Once upon a very
hot day while all of nature rested, while only the buzz of bees
passing among the flowers stirred one’s thought, little Leigh
noticed a motion in the hay field near our house. Out the child
darted into the meadow and his wee self disappeared below the
tall grass. I called for Egan and sent young Oiche out after the
baby. I went into panic for thinking some Pouka might be after
my child. For some time through the grass and heat we went
calling after the missing boy until a great thirst came upon all of
us. We grew weak and sought a bit of rest in the shade from the
stand of trees near the house. Here we found baby Leigh sitting
with a bowl of freshly picked berries. The mystery is that these
berries only grow atop a large thorny bush difficult to approach
by any person and not to be gathered by a toddling child.
It seemed that baby Leigh had long been keeping the
company of one or other of the wee folk from the parts here
about. He has always been dear to them. The wee folk have
shown him much of their ways and few are those who have the
knowing of so many of the wee folk.
Leigh spent his youth and learning in the woods and fields
in the company of himself and the wee folk. He came to travel
about as invisible and as easily as the wild deer. His physical
appearance has the look of the earth herself. He is neither
 102 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
too short nor too tall, neither too thin nor too stout. Mighty
in strength are his legs and arms. His face is round and plain
in feature. His hair is coarse and his appetite is prodigious. He
is too wild in looks to find the eye of a woman at least upon
first sight, and man quickly overlooks his presence for he easily
blends into any crowd or surrounding.
Small children and dogs are drawn to him. His intellect
is unsurpassed; his voice is rich, and commanding. He has no
noticeable talents; in fact his plainness and common look allow
him to pass unnoticed among the villages in any circumstance.
His ways are more the ways of the wee folk and he has been
known to become invisible.
The childhood of the Leigh was barely noticed by most.
It seems that dogs have always sought his attention and the
children never tire of his presence. Both were thrilled by his
attention. Leigh always appeared timely at a moment of need,
or conflict, or judgment, or crisis upon which occasion he would
render an opinion of great wisdom.
Leigh did not take part in the games of children as he was
always disappearing into nature. As young man he was given
great freedom in his comings and goings. Only himself knew
the reason of the time and place of his sojourns. It was by the
cause of nature that moves her creatures about.
At a time when Leigh was near to manhood, his walk
took him far across the plains of the Giollabhain. The reason
for that particular journey on that specific occasion has never
been known. But far out and away from the place of the people,
Leigh chanced upon the trail of two persons moving deep into
the brush away from the nearest village. A man and a small child
were traveling in a way that left signs most disturbing. Leigh was
sure of one fact. This child was in the presence of a man in great
haste. There was no sign in nature for need of such speed.”
“Show us Mame!” Cavan pleads.
Ree joins. “Cavan gets to see! May I as well?”
The three Druid step to the water’s edge and glance into
the globe of moonlight.
#
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 103
Having senses well formed by nature, a young Leigh
Havin
smells the fear left by the child on the trail, and the man’s
tracks are covered with a hideous evil stench. The sense of
evil ahead grows from a source other than nature. The path
of the leading pair is cumbersome and unlearned. Leigh is
closing upon the man and he is growing fearful.
The thicket gives way to a clearing. Here stands a dark
hairy man with his fist clenched in a grip upon a sharpened
object. The man’s face is distorted in the form of an evil
mask like those worn by the Druid in the time of Saurine of
the dark season. His face darkens into a sneer. A young girl
with brown hair, worn and numb, is held in a predictor’s
grip.
Leigh quickly moves around through the nearby
thicket making the sound of an angry bull. As the man
pulls the child in one direction, Leigh darts ahead and
again feigns the sound of bull’s charge. Leigh kicks up dirt
and shakes the branches. Again and again the man tries to
escape with the young girl only to be routed by the antics of
Leigh. The more his escape fails the more crazed becomes
the man’s actions until at last he tosses the child ahead to
face alone the bull’s charge. In doing so he hopes to elude
the beast and make good his escape.
Leigh quickly snatches the small girl into his arms as
he dashes her away from her attacker. The frightened child
clings to him and weeps. He follows the long trail back to
the cottage from where the girl was stolen. As night arrives,
Leigh makes his way with the little one into her family’s
home where many who have searched are yet gathered.
“The man who took your child is still afoot in the
fields. He will have to make bed and await day’s light before
he continues to flee if the banshee doesn’t get him first.
Follow me as I can lead you along his trail.”
Darkness in nature holds no fear for Leigh as it
does the villagers. But their anger to capture the thief of
children is great. With torch and spear they follow behind
the young Leigh who makes his way with ease to the place
where the deviant one lays asleep.
 104 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
The evil one is captured and brought before the Druid
of Giollabhain. For Leigh has saved the last child stolen and
more that may have followed her. He deeply regrets that
he could not save those children that were taken and lost
before this time. It is judgment of the Druid that this man
from our own people must not be permitted to stay in this
life, or be permitted to pass on into his next life. He is to be
placed within the water of a great bog and his spirit to be
held there forever.
# put off and all would be the worst for it. Hugh was most anxious
“Did Uncle Leigh find many missing people, Mame?”
“No but Leigh would always try his best.”
“How was Uncle Leigh able to find so many wee people?”
“Your uncle’s way in nature is the same as the wee folk, and
you might say they shared the same work.
Now as Leigh’s walks about came to be a grand sort, he
would be walking for days without seeing a living soul. From
one end of the isle of Mahr to another with no distance or no
obstruction of nature to keep him, he would go. Many are the
villages he passed through with none but the dogs and the little
children at play noticing him at all.
The wee people, like the cows in the field took great delight
in Leigh’s presence about themselves. Many are the fairies that
wanted to come to know the boy.”
“Did Hugh Mohr know Leigh?”
“Yes! It came that one day Hugh Mhor was in a great need
and came to me asking his last favor from Leigh.”
The island of Mahr has long been divided by the wee folk
into separate regions, each for habitation by an individual band
of the fairies and each with it’s own lord. On the other side of
Cliath lived a particularly fussy bunch of fairy folk that were the
western neighbors of the realm of Hugh Mhor. This bunch next
to Hugh took to war with a third band of wee folk living further
west yet.
When the wee folk take to fighting one another in large
armies, they are full of more delight than they are for the
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 105
finding of golden treasure. In fact every pair of fairy legs in the
whole of a region will stand together. Wee man and wee woman
form a great army to march out onto a neighboring meadow
for a grand fight with their pestilent fairy foe. The battles they
undertake can last through the whole of the night with just the
break of the day before resuming their conflict.
Hugh’s neighbors were fond of undertaking war with such
delight that the goings on could last for many a year. Now with
the little ones busy at having at each other, the important work
of the fairies in nature was left for wanting. Nature herself was
that his wee people would not suffer with nature’s loss and he
was asking for Leigh to visit the lands of the fairy feud to see if
a stop could be put to the fighting entirely.
“Leigh at my request made straight off for the lands just
west of Cliath. At night during his walking about the sound of
tiny trumpets and a mass of tiny shouts drew him to a great
meadow that lie between the remnants of two ancient ring
forts. These forts were long abandoned and the people of the
villages nearby stayed off from both as they were considered
troubled places.”
“Oh show us please, please!” The children shout.
“Ask Meave, dear ones.”
“Please Maeve!” Cavan asks.
#
It seems that the two fairy bands had long contested
the rightful ownership of the meadow as it rests upon both
sides of the border between the two fairy kingdoms. The
wee people are fond of planting special flowers and herbs
about in the same meadow. For as long as the fairies can
remember, each respected the other’s work in the meadow.
At harvest each fairy taking out the benefit of their effort
only.
But recently, the best crops laid by the fairies are
disappearing as quickly as they are raised. One fairy band
laying blame on the other until one fairy group came to
 106 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
blows with the second. As quick as you please, the entire
meadow is thick with angry fairies running about kicking,
punching and biting one another with all the enthusiasm a
fairy can muster.
Leigh has never observed such goings on and is hard
pressed as to know the means for settling the fairy’s
feud. Soon however, he discovers that one particular old
woman is making her way from a good distance off into the
meadow for helping herself to the goods she finds for the
taking there.
She is covered in mismatched patches of cloth and
keeps her peppered hair straight down her back in a single
coil. It seems that she is a bit of a thief and is known for
filling a dark linen bag with whatever of worth her eye and
opportunity fancy. She has long, slender, withered hands
that are sticky, indeed. She has recently stumbled onto
this meadow long left to itself by the villagers for the fear
of magic in it. The old woman finds a treasure of things
growing for her table and for sale back in her native village.
Now as the meadow is a good way off from home, her visits
are not often to be known to the local fairies but often
enough to start a grand bit of trouble.
The old woman has a lethal personality as attested to by
the sizable list of dead husbands. Her fellow villagers lack
pity for her. Even with them she is known as a trickster. The
overpriced goods she sells, however, are quickly bought up.
It is said that she had a child or two but that she sold them
into slavery when times were hard and her wants steep. Her
cottage is swelled with things discarded by others for want
of the using. It is also said the old girl would be a banshee in
the next life if she could make profit by so doing. Alone she
lives with several cats.
Now the woman fills her bag at the meadow and takes
the finer things for profit in the village market keeping
some for her own. Here one day, Leigh pays her price for
the booty taken from the meadow. Straight off he makes
to dispose of the goods back into the meadow from which
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 107
they came. Here, Leigh sits in the meadow’s center with the
plants, and flowers, and roots the old woman has scratched
out days before. These are laid around him in a great circle.
That evening when the two armies of wee folk gather at
the meadow’s edge prior to commencing hostilities, Leigh
invites the two fairy chieftains to council in the meadow’s
midst. The plants are quickly recognized by the wee folk.
The truth of the old woman’s work brings an end to fairy
war on that same spot.
The fairies to this day call the center of the meadow
Leigh’s Part as they have all given ownership up to Leigh
and his ancestors.
#
“What about the old woman, Mame?”
“Ah Yes, Cavan, the fairies have a way in dealing with
manipulative lady folk who cause trouble. The fairies place
over all their crops in the meadow a magic dust. Once the old
woman’s hand touched anything that grows in the fairy field,
big ugly red warts grew upon her face and they stayed there
until she stopped her wrongdoing. No woman, even an old
woman, wants to be seen as ugly. She eventually put two and
two together, that’s for sure.”
“Did uncle Ceol have much dealings with the wee folk?”
“No Cavan, I can’t say that he has ever dealt directly with
the little fairies as did Leigh, but certainly the wee folk have a
great fondness for Ceol and his music.”
One knew this child would be musically inclined by the
look of his long fingers when he was born. The third child Ceol
made cries as a baby as soft any song. He had fiery blond hair
and pale blue eyes. He was long and lean from birth.
When one held him as a newborn in their arms, he leaped
for joy when the robin took to singing, or the rain beat a rhythm
upon the thatch. At times when music was in the house, Ceol
would make his miniature legs kick to the beat. His little self
would bounce up and down to the sound of the music long
before he could walk.
 108 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
Ceol was sure enough ready to play with the children in the
fields, but at chore time he was misplaced for the lack of music
in the work to be done. His grandfather was quick to get hold
of a pipe flute for the boy early on so the lad was busy about the
place learning some good. For it was no farmer to be for Ceol.
Ceol made it so his home was never without music and
dance. He played the harp beautifully and even his voice
wasn’t bad at all. He would play in the town, at weddings, at
the Beltaine festival, all round the village, and even about
Giollabhain early on. He was requested to play often and made
friends and a bit of profit easily. He sometimes liked to go off
into the forest alone and play. The wee folk take great pleasure
in good music. The fairies have always loved Ceol’s playing, for
on more than one occasion a broken instrument had been left
for want of his repair only to be found as good as new lying upon
his windowsill the following day.
When it came time for Ceol to take to manhood the only
way for him to make good was to be sent off to The Holy Grove.
Here he went not for study of knowing as a Druid, but for the
study of telling as a bard. At the Holy Grove, Ceol learned the
ways of making music on many an instrument. Some of which
are rarely ever heard played. Many the tunes he played for fun as
well as the business of the place of the Druid. While at Cliath,
Ceol got about while making music for the king on special
occasions.
It’s a fact that music has direct power upon man and spirit
alike. The call of the pipes and the magic of a harp can move
a man to do great things such as longing to fight in war. The
spirits of the sky, earth, and water will chime in the work of man
if the music is to their liking. Indeed, many are the women who
have been swept away altogether by the music made just for the
heart.
Ceol was not much for being a man with family. He shared
his soul, and his music with all that would listen. He stayed
among the many at Cliath keeping a place with one lady or the
other who had need for the deepness of Ceol’s feelings. Often
he would be found to be keeping several homes at the same
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 109
time, each with it’s own woman inside. Prodigious in his music
and his love of life is Ceol. But never one for making trouble
was he. More’s the friend of his to be found in man and spirit.
Ceol was well aware that his music is much liked by all.
He understood that fairies one and all enjoyed music played
from the soul. They would be quick to attend the listening of
it. When sounds of his music were especially serene, Ceol could
calm the sea herself. For sure such a gift of music must be given
for the needs of the gods straight off.
Keeping with his duties as a man of the finest
accomplishment in the art of making music and the telling of
tales, Ceol was soon in demand of performing about the whole
of the isle of Mahr for the Chead, and the Giollabhain alike. His
journeys were sometimes of considerable lengths. It happened
that while traveling, Ceol would make music and song especially
for those fairies in the vicinity. In return, the spirits would ease
his journey with good pathways and good fortune. Often time
his hunger and thirst would be attended to by the favor of the
spirits along the road with the finding of a spring or the capture
of a pheasant.
“Mame, did uncle Ceol get to meet wee folk at all?”
“There was never the need Cavan, for he communicated
with them all his days in the way of the magic of music, and
there’s no better way. Though they do hide in the shadows,
behind the trees, and outside his window to listen to his ever
beguiling music.”
“I love to hear his music!” Says Ree.
So does Maeve as the lovely sounds of minstrel rise from
the moon’s reflection.
#
Ceol seeks inspiration by accompanying nature’s own
sounds. There’s one place for the magic of nature like none
other on the island and that’s the enchanted forest that
Eta inhabits. Now Ceol visits the place for the listening
of it’s magic. Sometimes he answers the forest back with
the sound of his flute or lyre. For sure the banshee herself
listens and takes pleasure from such a concert.
 110 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
Upon this visit, Ceol hears the sound of a lovely voice
singing off in the woods. It is the sound of a young woman
keeping herself amused while at her work. Ceol moves
toward the girl’s voice. The beauty of her sound touches
his heart. As he approaches the girl, his emotions gave way
through his flute as his music joins hers. Dana, a girl fairy, is
overjoyed with the richness of the melody that forms with
her voice. The two became great friends and another is
never to hear the magic of the music they make together.
Dana becomes so fond of Ceol that she wishes him to
remain with her in the forest. He is equally fond of her and
wants her to come back to village with him. However, the
forest is not to become home to Ceol, and Dana will not
leave her woods. They will always keep a love for each other
from such moments.
# Mairg was his keeper. They grew together as one. His small size
“Your Uncle Ceol loves his music more than anything.
Besides Cavan, while you’re in Cliath you’ll see much of Ceol
and his harp.”
“Your muther has learned the ways of healing and giving
life. You both already know much from her in caring for the
sick and dying creatures of the forest. This is a great power
your muther has shared with you. Your spirits are good and
compassionate as your muther’s.”
“Let me tell you a story of your muther that I’m sure you
don’t know and perhaps your muther has forgotten entirely. As
a little girl of four or five years, your muther with a head full of
toffee ribbon hair would make about the house keeping busy
at the playing of games with one wee folk. This little man was
sent by Hugh Mohr to keep the baby child safe from the Pouka
or other terrible creatures since she liked to wander hither and
yon. Rialta soon discovered that she had this fairy eating out of
the palm of her hand. All day her playmate would step and fetch
till he could do no more. Rialta would laugh and giggle at the
antics of her fairy friend seen only to herself.
It happened at this time that a sickness came over the land
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 111
that left the children untouched, but many a grown up laid in
bed sick for a day or more with a fever. Now Egan came home
from the fields early one day with this fever and by the next day
I was not able for rising to do the chores of the house. For two
full days the house and all the adults of the home were under
the charge of a very young, Rialta. With a knowing of care far
from a child and the help of her fairy companion, Rialta kept
the home. She made warm broth for her sick parents, as well as
keeping her brothers busy with care of the animals.
The child was happy all her days. She never knew sorrow
except for the passing of her dear father. Her life is full with the
memories of her family. In many ways she lives her life as a fairy
child to this very day.”
“Muther is always making jokes and fun. Especially when
Uncle Leigh is about the place.”
“Well, Fergus was my last baby to be born. As a young boy,
at birth wasn’t the only remarkable sign I noted of him. From
the first moment of life he was acrobatic, athletic and fast like
the hare being chased by the fox. He was always a small child,
nimble with more energy than two be a needing. In childhood
he was always being chased by bigger older boys but never to be
caught. A most confident, competitive boy he was, just filled
with a fearless spirit. Climbing heights, diving into deep pools
of water, teasing bulls in the meadows, risking his life were real
threats for Fergus. How he always escaped injury in his daring
ways is beyond my knowing. He had more zest that Egan and
I put together, and we had the dark circles under our eyes to
prove it. The best way to describe Fergus, is to see his story of
the bull.”
#
There is a particularly pugnacious bull in one meadow
near about belonging to a neighboring farmer. This farmer
has no control over the bull and keeps him in a field by
himself. Many a youth is drawn there to view this monster
from afar and thrill at the bull’s snorting and ferocious
displays.
 112 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
The owner of the bull teases the boys with a challenge,
“whoever can place an amulet of the spirit Tarbh upon that
creature’s neck, may keep half the calves born from the
next breeding season.”
The spirit Tarbh’s power extends to fertility. Such an
amulet would make this bull far more potent a breeder. The
prospect of the gain of one’s own cattle is a guarantee of
wealth for Fergus and his family. Although the farm head
joked, Fergus took the challenge very seriously.
Fergus approaches a neighbor one day. He asks for
a golden amulet, which he will repay with the gift of the
first calve to be his prize. There is a small amulet in his
neighbor’s home. Fergus fashions it upon a strong leather
chord of length to just fit about the horns of a goodly sized
beast. Once placed upon the bull, the golden amulet will
rest about the beast’s brow for all to see.
The lad really has no idea how to get close to the beast
so as to place the amulet. He does know, however, that as
he approaches the beast it will charge. This is the place at
which he must start his trial. So day after day, time after
time into the field, Fergus goes to see the bull. The bull
snorts and gives him chase across the meadow up to the
border of a stone wall over which the lad bounds to make
his escape. This scenario repeats itself for quite sometime.
Each time the lad challenges the bull; the lad lets
the horns of the bull gain closer in the chase. The closer
the horns came to the lad the greater the fury of the bull
and the swifter his flight. The two contestants became so
proficient at one chasing the other that the bull comes to
match the speed of the lad, but the bull can never quite
close. This doesn’t go without several close calls.
By practice the lad exits the field at the same section
of the wall. The bull’s charge comes closer and closer to
the stone wall. In fact, the two front legs of the bull brake
the charge just at the very last step in the field before the
stones of the wall.
As time passes, a crowd of locals gathered to witness
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 113
the escapades of Fergus in the field. His young friends
cheer. Many such days past until at last Fergus appears
with the amulet fresh in his hand. The word has gotten
about that the lad is going to kill himself all together in
trying to charm this bull.
With serene confidence, the lad marches a bit slower
up to confront his waiting opponent. For sure, the two of
them are no longer strangers. The demeanor of the boy this
day confuses the bull somewhat but the intensity of the
bull’s gaze gives sign that the game is going to be played.
The bull struts about his territory and snorts aggressively.
The boy stops short of the mark that always starts the
race and holds the amulet straight out towards the face of
the bull.
“This is for you this day to wear,” says Fergus. The
bull’s puzzled look and the quiet of the many spectators
give great anticipation of things to come.
The boy steps to the mark. The bull’s massive body
heaves and springs forth with a mighty blare. Huge clumps
of sod fly up as the lad turns and takes to immediate
flight. The horns of the pursuing bull as close to the lad’s
hindquarters as they have ever been.
Over the meadow they fly one just after the other in
a beeline straight to the usual place over which the boy
leaps. The bull as usual sets to brake at the wall edge. As
the bull comes to the wall, however, this time he does
not stop. Instead something catches the beast’s hoof, and
he stumbles mightily against the wall and lands upon his
back.
The night before, the boy has gathered stones and
made a barely visible ledge of a step in the meadow just
in front of the wall. Dazed, the bull lay motionless as his
senses are scattered. Quickly the boy springs to the bull’s
head and stretches the tether over the animal’s horns. The
lad bounds back out of the meadow as the beast regains his
senses and comes to his feet.
The bull’s shock gives way to rage. Inside his pen,
 114 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
he charges down the path towards the opened mouth
spectators leaning on the posts who quickly scatter. The
bull bounds here and there in any and all directions but all
the while the amulet shines atop his brow.
The owner of the bull is greatly angered over the
treatment of his prize. But once the creature is back
grazing in his meadow and shows to be no worse for his
fall, the farmer is quick to thank Fergus for the prosperity
to come from the spirit Tarbh. In time of the next berthing
season and for many more to come, the enchantment of
the bull gives a great progeny in the farmer’s herd of cattle.
Fergus’s fortune is won but far greater to him is the besting
of the great beast in his own meadow.
# are frequent from her lack of sleep.
“I sent him to Emor to find out the goings on there once
he became a man. I gave him a riddle to answer for me upon his
return. The riddle was ‘what force of mankind runs up as well as
down a river, reveals light on the surface, yet hides its darkened
depths?’ Fergus accepted this challenge. He started from the
port of the Chead with passage to the Emorian Empire across
the sea.
Fergus traveled by way of the river and spent two years in
the court of Queen Almidah. He was amazed by the ways of her
people who lived with such wanton abandon and whom kept
extravagant appetites. There were many huge markets, much
music and grand elegance like none seen in Mahr.
Many days of travel led him to the queen’s castle. Here
Fergus found never ending with royal parties held by Queen
Almidah. She appeared to him as a spoiled child. Impulsive
was her rule. Her directives were followed without question.
However, he did not find her lacking! She was cunning, and she
managed to build an vast empire on her own.”
“This tale I shall let Maeve describe.
#
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 115
There is a young maiden in court, whose name is Doan.
As a small child she was sold into service in the royal court.
Now as a young woman her beauty rivals Almidah. Fergus
as well as all the visitors to the court are aware of Doan.
Servants of the Queen of Emor are most cruelly
treated. Fergus takes great pity for the young woman. Her
form and presence captivate him. His regular appearance
to the court becomes an opportunity to gain Doan’s
recognition.
Upon one occasion Fergus finds the girl absent from
serving the guests. Almida has Doan’s beautiful mane of
golden curls shaved. Doan is confined to quarters where no
man will catch sight of her. Young Doan is made to stay late
in the night at her work. She grows weary and her mistakes
Doan is yet still beautiful. Almidah becomes more
displeased with her. Doan’s life is in great danger. There is
talk in court,
that Almidah might sell Doan’s head. Fergus decides
that he must act quickly.
The Emorian Queen is quite busy with affairs of the
state. She is relentless in her attempts to capture her
neighbor’s land. She is also consumed with her need for
powerful men, whom she pursues with fierceness.
One night Fergus sets out to retrieve the fair young
Doan. She is cleaning and has grown numb from the work.
He spies her from a window and is troubled to find the
once vibrant woman devoid of a youthful appearance. He
sits for some time watching Doan, as his courage rises. He
must kidnap her for there is no time to explain. The girl
slumps to her feet with sleep.
“I am here to take you to some safe place,” he tells
her as he takes her into his arms. The next day, Almidah
is enraged and has her men perform a thorough search
for the girl. Fergus hides her away in a ship moving west
toward the coast and Mahr.
“Do I know your face from court, or from my dreams?
I am ever grateful to you.” Doan compliments.
 116 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN

“I am Fergus of the isle of Mahr, we shall be there soon.

You are not safe here, Doan.”
“I’ve heard Almidah talk of Mahr. She is planning a
siege upon this island.”
#
“Upon his return, I ask Fergus the riddle once more…What
force of mankind runs up as well as down a river, reveals to us
only light on the surface, yet hides it’s darkened depths?”
He paused and answered, “Almidah is full of such murderous
intent. Her plans destroy anyone in her path. The answer to the
riddle is ambition.”
Doan became his first and only wife. Fergus became an
advisor to the king.
“Mame, I want to see more of this evil queen, Almidah!”
 Chapter V
Ná nocht d’fhiacla go bhféadfair an greim do bhreith.
Do not show your teeth until you can bite.

“Such a request is possible with Meave’s permission. Ree you may

join our present Druid practice, but you must keep the sacred
silence of the Druid. To misuse the Druid way is to bring great
danger to you and yours. Do you agree to this? Be sure in your
answer for neither your brother or I may save you otherwise!”
Muire speaks solemnly.
 120 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
“Yes, I shall keep the way of the Druid now and forever!”
Ree’s answer is sure and strong.
“Then your first Druid act is to call to Maeve to show us
more of the past of Queen Almidahh of the Emor.”
“I wish to see this queen of whom so many have spoken.
How do I call her? I didn’t know such powers exist!” Ree is
unsure.
“Simply step to the lake’s edge point toward the reflection
of the moon goddess upon then water. Announce yourself and
your relationship to Maeve. Then tell her that knowing for
which thou seek. That’s the whole of it!” Cavan answers.
Slowly Ree moves to the water’s edge, gently she raises
her open hands and motions toward the moon’s reflection.
Respectfully she calls, “Meave, hear me! I am Ree, daughter
of Mairg, granddaughter of Muire, and great granddaughter
of Egan of the McElwain clan of the Giollabhain who are the
descendants from your husband Giol. I who will one day shall be
muther to your future descendants call upon you to provide us
the knowing of the past that we here may serve your children’s
children. Place the past of the life of Almidahh of the Emor into
the moon goddess’ image upon your lake. Let…”
“Ree don’t drown the poor spirit with words. Enough!”
Muira demands. “Meave our muther, spirit let Ree see
Almidahh.”
A soft wind brushes against the Druid trio, and it carries
a bit of a laugh across the water. Ree stares with bewilderment
as the reflection of the moon begins to move with figures, and
sounds of the past pouring forth.
# place and grounds this night as the long darkness invites
The longest, darkest night of the year is a time of much
celebration in Almidah’s castle and for the people of Emor.
This night Almidah’s family, her councilor, Phelan, leaders
of other lands, and advisors and their families gather in a
great hall for feasting, music and merriment. Almidah hates
this; the time of winter. She longs for the time of much
sun, a place such as her home, far to the south. Across the
conquered lands the Emor will make much celebration.
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 121
Despite the crowds and activity within the great hall
of Almidah’s home, the queen’s ambition drives her to
anticipation of the coming spring. Pretty servant girls
are arrayed in jeweled colored tunics of the finest linen
and their long hair is let loose about their shoulders. They
pass continuously among the guests with trays of seasoned
beef, lamb, fruits and freshly baked breads that scent the
air. Handsome young men in tunics and caps of red carry
vessels of wine and ale for drink.
Musicians from lands far away and groups of barely
clad dancers entertain continuously through the darkened
evening. The dancers flutter around like a group of exotic
birds. In the main hall, groups of guests mingle and dance
a lively step to the lyre, flute and harp. The corridors of the
palace are swollen with visitors passing back and forth,
Kings, Queens, Princes, Lords from far away lands gather.
Almidah and her children sit in the back of the palace on a
slightly elevated stage overlooking the crowded gardens.
Olga comments to her muther on the dress of the
various ladies of the court. Handsome male guests are
recognized and their positions in court are assessed. The
royal group remains isolated with heavy guard. The guests
became animated by the merrymaking as the evening wears
on. Much to Almidah’s liking, the conduct of the guests
soon becomes uninhibited. Almidah is most entertained
by the power plays of the young women and men that are
made not only for love but also for status.
The guards are heavily armed and stand about the
much intrigue. Almidah ensures the safety of her royal
court by having all celebrate this night under her gaze and
the watch of her guard. Prince Roule, who is a dignified
man, is in danger of Almidah’s seduction. She is watching
him.
This night, Almidah gives presents to the guests
who are of high standing in her court. Drawings are held
for larger gifts of precious stones, gold decorations and
 122 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
silver objects. The best of the entertainers receive royal
sponsorship with land and livestock.
At this particular feast, Almidah wishes to gain much
goodwill from those she has invited. Those who have served
well during the past year are received privately at her table
throughout the night. Here she dispenses special favors
in return. Some of Almidah’s courtesans have so become
wealthy. Almidah uses this night to conclude the accounts
of her empire for the past year. Lords from neighboring
lands attend or are to be found within Almidah’s compound.
She keeps no prisoners. Those who commit a crime or plot
against her or her plans will immediately disappear.
During these private interludes, Almidah is sure
to have fateful discussions. Her chief council for war
is Phelan. Truly, this man is gifted in military matters.
Almidah is the only architect of the empire but her war
council has become the machine of conquest and rule.
“Tell me of the plans for the campaigns of the coming
warm season?” Asks Almidah.
“The plans for the southern conquests are very
ambitious. Your army is within reach of it’s final objective
as it is moving towards the western sea. With sufficient
provisions at their disposal, the last nation between your
army and the warm sea shall be destroyed. All that stands
before you to the southwest will be yours,” answers the
general.
“Excellent news! Once all the lands this side of the
great mountains are unified under my banner, the riches
that lay beyond shall soon be mine. What of our struggle
in the north?”
“My queen, the people of the north are great in size.
They are most barbaric in manner. These savages give
much trouble even when in chains. Their warriors are
so mighty that they’re hundred stands against our five
hundred. We destroy their fortifications but they gather
in the remote highlands were it takes thousands of men to
defeat the few.”
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 123
“Their mountains are always full of snow and ice. The
typography makes it difficult to defeat them. I fear that
these remnants will rise up time and time again against
you. However, their weaponry is antiquated. We are far
more advanced but it is possible that abundant manpower
will be needed to keep your rule in the north. If this is so
then your gain will be lost.”
“What! A few filthy pigs are to spoil my plans? I
don’t think so! Let your troops in the north slay all men
of fighting age found up to the land where the ground is
always frozen. Every woman and child in the north is to be
made a slave and transported to the south. Here they are
to be sold or used for the southern campaign. Let none but
their elderly stay in the villages of the north. Offer to any
man who serves us well much land in the north and two
slaves. We will conquer the north after we have our profit.
When the conquest is final, only our own people shall be
there for our rule.”
“It shall be as you say, my queen,” Phelan bows in her
direction.
“What of this island of Mahr? When shall I have the
profit from this?”
“My queen, I beseech you to delay the conquest of this
island one year until the southern campaign is at an end.”
“Why so, my general? Is this island so heavily
fortified?”
“The island is small in number that will resist you.
However, we do not have a seafaring army. The warm
season brings much trade. The ships are needed to move
goods south. To impede the supply’s arrival there will not
only delay victory in the south but may give strength to
your enemies.”
“Surely my general, a few troops will not occupy so
many vessels!”
“The vessels require oarsman and sailors. Our troops
are trained for neither task.”
“How difficult is it to row a boat! I could train a
monkey to do it.” Almidah is agitated.
 124 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
“Yes Almidah, but there are the external factors, such
as the gods of the sky and sea. Sure it’s easy to row a boat,
but to keep it afloat is an entirely a different story. In
addition, much material will be required in order for such
an undertaking to be successful.”
“What numbers have you in mind?”
“A force of twenty thousand and several hundred
ships. A sure victory is quite expensive. The land of Mahr
is rumored to be heavy with spirits that dislike foreigners.
The army must face armed warriors and angry spirits as
well.”
Olga boasts, “That’s just a bunch of nonsense. I can’t
see why muther can’t have her island as she wishes. Our
Queen’s power has crushed the wishes of many ghosts in
many lands.”
“My princess, no force is as great as the ocean when
it rages. The risk of the loss of a large flotilla at this time
would damage the queen’s plans at the borders.”
“Muther, let Paolo take a small army and bring all the
gold back now! You can send the rest of the army to occupy
the island next year,” poses Olga.
“Can this be done, Phelan?”
“Aye, a small force of three thousand men would
remove their resistance. The number of ships needed
would be small, fifty or so. However, such a force would
have to take provisions from the island itself. An extended
campaign will not be advisable. There can be no plan for
reinforcement until a year after the invasion.”
“Would fifty ships be enough to carry all the gold?”
asks Almidah.
“Several round trips by the ships may have to be made.
We can send more as needed.”
“Olga, you are so thoughtful to your muther! You shall
have your pick from among the first vessel to return with
gold from Mahr. Paolo shall lead this task! General make
what provisions are necessary to bring my gold home to me
from this land as soon as possible.”
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 125
“Olga, we shall make plans for the riches to be coming.
What fun!”
#
“That is the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen! Her gown
is gorgeous. Her home is immaculate and the most ornate, I’ve
never seen such displays of wealth!” Says the astounded Ree.
“What does she have to fear?”
“In the time of the darkest night, the people on the island
of Mahr also make great festivals of lights. Large fires are lit
from stocks of wood gathered over many days. These fires are
kept a glow all through the night so as to push away the evil that
darkness brings. It is said upon this night of Saurine, that the
lost spirits are most likely to return to walk the earth. Children
wear protective amulets to ward off the haunting creatures.
The Pouka does her best work on such a night, as many are the
poor ones that lay helpless in their sick bed.
This is the time when the Druid’s will offer sacrifice upon
the mounting pyres for those who have caused discontent with
the spirits of the land. Intent on pleasing the spirits, the clan
will repeat chants along with sacred music and dancing. Men
and women in dress and mask that give a spirit’s form will hide
their human ways throughout the night. The villagers shall
move about from hut and home to a fire’s side with cheers and
music to drive misfortune away. The animals will be sheltered
within the village this night for keeping safe. The kindly spirits
of wood and well are made quiet by the overriding power of the
evil that may be unbound in the dark.
Cliath does not welcome strangers into it’s midst for fear a
Pouka will be about this night in human form. The king orders
all others but his guests and the local people to spend the night
out of the village. Villagers are not permitted to leave and
return this night. Death is the price for those who violate the
law. All the king’s men will keep watch with sword and torch
throughout the night.
In the enchanted forest, Eta and her friends wait out this
darkest of nights within their cave. No one is to be permitted
 126 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
entrance into her cave for just the supposing a counterfeit spirit
would be at the want for the making of trouble. Eta will be busy
all the previous day at making extra places for the soft animals
that live in the forest to hide. Indeed, all the earth’s creatures
will be in hiding as the mist in the woods grow large upon this
night. The banshee’s power reaches its most formidable state at
this time as well.
The wee people do no work or play this night. They take
great fear of getting into trouble with those black things that
live in darken holes and fowl smelling places which come
about on just this one night. Hugh Mhor leads his entire band
to a place deep under the golden meadow and keeps them
completely quiet for the entire night. It’s a great feat for a single
fairy not to make a sound for a minute let alone the whole of
the night. Such is only possible for the entire bunch once a year
and this due wholly to the evil nature of this night. The good
fairies take leave of the places the goblins are sure to be found
haunting during Saurine.
“Cavan, I myself have always hated the coming of the dark
night of Sauriane ever since I lost my son Daor.”
“It is necessary to see that no little one, or elderly, or sick
one is left in a darkened hut alone anywhere in the land of the
Giollabahin. Some of the villagers prepare torches and scented
candles for the people who cannot provide for themselves. The
doors and windows are closed as well as shutters. The homes are
decorated with mistletoe and holly, for the keeping of spirits from
passing easily into one’s home. Many a child’s crib and bed would
be decorated the same. Broaches of iron will be pinned upon the
sleeping child’s tunic to keep them from being carried off. Men
awake or sleep would keep their sword and spear at the ready.
In the west, Oiche lines his fort with a great ring of fire
so no spirit may pass through. He invites all from the west to
shelter their family and animals within his fort. Great feasting
and drink, such as that in the way of the north men, will be
available to all. Music and song are to be offered to the gods
that keep the fort and it’s land safe from harm.”
#
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 127
Paolo is excited to hear he will lead the first naval
invasion by the Emor. He chooses several of his closest
friends to lead the army of invasion. Half his force is to be
veteran foot soldiers; the other half experienced sailors.
All would have to serve the double duty of shore and sea.
In preparation, Paolo sends spies to the island of Mahr
to assess the island ‘s fortification and possible armed
resistance. His force gathers early in the spring at the
ocean’s shore. Sailors drill with the army. All would train
aboard vessels sailing up and down the coast of Emor. This
spring, the spirits of the ocean are aware of a small poorly
matched force of Emorians that are preparing to sail out
for conquest. Any could guess that the island of Mahr is in
danger of losing its freedom.
#
“What did we do about this?” Cavan asks.
“News reached the people of Cliath long before the dark
season ended. We were informed that the Emor’s army was in
preparation and would soon sail to their shore. The king of the
Chead called Oiche came from the west. A great council was
convened.
Oiche was quick to speak. “The Emorians will take to the
sail at the time that the south wind blows. When the herds of
the island are full with new life and the crops ready to sprout,
then they shall come.”
“Such has always been the way of invaders to our shores,”
replied the king. He questioned as to how the island would
defend itself.
“The Giollabhain will fight in the land to the east. This is
where they are most prepared to fight. Although they are few,
many Emorians shall fall upon the land like drops from a rain
cloud,” Oiche tried to comfort the king.
“They chose to divide the enemy and force him to fight on
the ground of their choosing.
One can deny them the use of their strength. The island
must hold out and weaken the enemy. Then there is a chance for
 128 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
victory. An initial confrontation would leave us at a tremendous
disadvantage. I will consult further with a potential ally, King
Kendal of the north.”
“I didn’t know that we ever had spies about our village, let
alone on the island,” Ree is most concerned.
# Olga hears of the capture of a most vicious young man
Paolo chooses a single spy recommenced to him by
Phelan to send to Mahr. Ornan is man with a most cunning
disposition. He is a most evasive and fleeting person. He
is to pass among the people of the island as a young adult
and as an artist. The artwork he will leave behind during
his time on the island is to be the only perception left of the
man. His artwork is to be found all around the royal court
with scenic views of the landscape to help the Emorians.
He works in paintings mostly. Working with crude
paint of natural dye he makes murals upon walls. He does
window picture type landscapes that capture the sensations
of summer and hold them for all to see throughout the year.
In some fashion, he creates music and rhymes that tell of
other worlds, times of old and things of the future.
This lad, Ornan seems to be an orphan with no family
or apparent home. His physical appearance changes upon
the occasion. One may describe him with having longish
hair while another does not. His height is at once tall, but
later he’s seen as short. His manner of dress is not constant,
for he assumes many personae. As soon as he engages work,
he barters away his present apparel for new. The look of
him is never the same one day to the next.
The truth is this lad is a vicious criminal, a devious thief
and a predator of young girls. His activities have stretched
for several years into all parts of the mainland. There he is
a transient, yet was somehow greatly familiar wherever he
goes. The crimes he commits are always attributed to an
evil spirit.
Just as the invasion is being prepared, Ornan has
lured a young servant girl from Almidah’s court into the
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 129
woods where she vanishes. However, this time he is found
by the queen’s guard who are ever vigilant. He tries to
escape through the woods. The sport of tracking prey with
canines has been brought to Emor from the land of Olga’s
father. This sport Almidah adapts to the hunting of wanted
men by her royal guard.
who has confessed to many crimes. More importantly to
Olga, this lad has moved freely about the land of the Emor
evading all security and law of place and time. His capture
inspires the princess. Olga advises her muther to let this
monster go to Mahr as a spy. Almidahh’s offer to Ornan
to become an informant to save his life is accepted. He
proceeds in advance of the young prince and this army into
the land of the Giollabhain. Once there, he is to find the
source of gold.
This man, Ornan, gains passage as a sailor to Mahr
in the dark season. This is a time of great tempests at sea.
A most difficult voyage is undertaken at a time when few
ships leave the shore. Once safely in the port of Claith, he
passes about the island as a traveling minstrel and artist. He
seeks his pleasures and fortune among the unsuspecting of
Mahr.
For days Ornan makes his way inside Cliath counting
the number of troops. The locations of the port’s defenses
and the king’s compound are noted. Ornan, in fear of
detection, stays far away from the Druid and their Holy
Grove. From the locals he reports the size of the Druid
presence to Olga. It is not long before Ornan knows
much about the Chead and the whole of the island. Ornan
discovers that no real army exists to the west of the island.
Only Cliath offers a defense with a standing army of little
more than three hundred men. A conscripted force from
the nearby farms will amount to a measure of 2500 Chead
to defend the island. The conquest of Cliath and the island
is assured.
#
 130 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
The source of gold for the island is not found in Claith
itself. Although Ornan collected a small bag of golden objects
taken from homes of his victims. He discovered that a magic
pool where a muther spirit lives, provides the island’s gold. The
spirit leaves nuggets of gold occasionally at the water’s edge as
a present to those, which have found favor with her. This pool
is found in the northeastern part of the island and is known as
Locherbith.
All this information Ornan sent to Olga by word aboard
vessels bound to return to lands of the Emor. This news is
transported back to the Emor in early spring when normal sea
trading resumes. Ornan’s message once received by Almidah
and her children gave great expectation to the islands conquest.
There was no doubt that the task for Paolo would be swift to
its finish.
Ornan remained upon the island to await the invasion. His
greed drew him into the enchanted forest on his way to reach
the source of gold before Paolo’s arrival. He wished to gather his
fortune long before any invasion. His evil presence in the woods
of Eta was a great disturbance. The animals were quick to make
off from his encounter. The fairies would cry out alarm in the
winds to warn those of the forest to beware. Eta and her band of
spirits searched for the path taken by Ornan through the woods
but his elusiveness was too great even for them.
The Giollabhain and the Maeve herself guard the way
to Locherbith. The stranger who seeks this place without
permission is confounded and led astray by nature. Only by the
intercession of a Druid known to the lady of the lake may the
newcomer pass to the water’s edge.
Ornan set about the land of the Giollabahin to seduce the
people and discover the means to the lake of gold. No one had
a recollection of this lad as a baby or child. None had the power
of observation strong enough to detect this man as an impostor.
If a child was missing, it was thought the work of the banshee.
Now, as the time of spring drew near, the sea traffic to the
port of Cliath had all but about ended. Ships of sea were staying
far off from the island for wishing not to be caught up in any
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 131
battle not their own. The slave pens around the docks were
empty.”
“Cavan, it was from Maeve we were wanting to know the
way of protecting the people and the land from the invasion to
come.”
“What did you do Mame?” Asks Cavan.
“I sent my daughter Rialta to the lake to call to the spirit
there for help.”
Rialta and all the female descendants of the lake made a
great holy procession. Smoke and fragrance issued from flames
of torches made from special dried roots and herbs that were
carried by the Druids. At lake’s side they were to call on the
spirit to show some sign that they would be protected from the
invasion.
Now, the villain Ornan was to learn of the pilgrimage and
had disguised himself in Duidess’ dress and hood. He made his
way in the last of the procession pretending to keep the back
of young girls. All the time he was marking the way of the gold.
Ornan hid his face behind the flames of a torch. None were
suspicious and the band of ladies made straight away to their
quest.
The party arrived at the lake’s edge just before dark. The
night would be kept in vigil and chant for the coming of the
muther spirit just as the sun vanished from the sky. At the time
of a dark blue sky with stars set above a reddish orange horizon,
the waters in the lake took to turning and churning up bubbles.
One great arm of water reached out to the shore. This crest of
water fell upon the assembly of the people. The surge of water
sent all reeling about one another. They all screamed as they
fell and swirled in the rush of water’s flow about the land. Some
were pushed many feet back from the edge of the lake. Others
were pulled toward the brink in the current of water running
back into the lake.
One lonely figure was taken completely from the shore.
Pulled away from the group of woman on land by the spirit
of lake’s watery reach, Ornan was seen drifting out toward
the middle of the lake. They were all struck by the sound of
 132 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
his moans for it was not the cries of a woman. A large whirl
of water set about the man and pulled him under. His cries
for help confused Rialta and the others who stood frozen and
bewildered. How had this man come among their midst? She
could only watch in disbelief as the villainous one vanished
beneath the water’s surface.
In the last instant, as Ornan’s fate was secured, the water
of the lake grew calm. The women chattered about in confusion
and horror. The swirling lake calmed once again, and the beauty
of the cool late evening sky reflected from the lake’s mirrored
surface as if nothing unpleasant occurred. The image of the face
of a beautiful woman with golden hair flowing appeared under
the water.
“None shall occupy this land but my descendants. Muira
shall tell all to abandon Cliath. Leave no person nor any
possession there until the end of the warm season.” These
words came forth from the lake as if by a whispering breeze.
“How shall we fight those who come,” asked Rialta.
“Follow the ways of Muira’s son Oiche.” With these words
the cool wind from the north resumed. The surface of the lake
grew rough and the lady’s visage was no more to be seen.”
“When I received these words of Maeve from Rialta, a
message was immediately sent to Oiche in the west.”
Oiche was to make ready a plan for Cliath at once. To Eta
word was sent of the impending battle for the island. Eta was
told that the enchanted forest is to be invaded by non-believers
from across the sea. All spirits and animals of the forest must
prepare for defense of their land.
“That same night I called to Hugh Mohr to come to my
home.”
Hugh arrived very late upon that damp and dreary night.
He was most agitated by the news of an invasion.
“We fairy folk are just getting used to the presence of the
Chead in our midst. They have only been here one thousand or
more years. This new bunch will have different ways. Our fairy
business will be greatly inconvenienced,” said he.
“Hugh, your band of wee folk will be left alone in Claith at
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 133
the time of the invasion. Your bunch must fight in the place of
the Chead. This is the will of the spirit muther,” said I.
At this, the little man’s back went stiff with his little
shoulders upright. His face was filled with determination and
fire.
“A fairy war against those from the sea it will be and with
no innocent ones in the way at all. Never in me life has there
been a chance such as this to show the power of the wee folk,”
said Hugh.
“Muira, we have never been able to stop the big people
from coming to our land. But it’s for sure we sent more than one
handful back wearing the sores we give them.” With this said,
Hugh smiled at himself and was off with a kick of his legs.
The king of Giolabhain was informed. All the current
proceedings on the island by man and fairy alike were reported.
He immediately ordered all non-combatants to gather their
goods. Parcel and animal alike were transported to the great
ring fort at the east most sea wall. Here fresh embankments
were dug. Tents from skins of animal were set standing for the
many folk to be arriving.
Meat and fish were dried for storage. The fields were
completely abandoned from the plowing. The crops were not
to be sown this year. Dry goods were collected and stored for
rationing. Fruits and berries of the field were picked and dried
as well. Those herbs and roots used for medicines were gathered
in abundance for later want. Many were the nights that spring,
in which man, woman and child would stay late at the making of
spears, arrows or shields.
“The way of war is not for long living, Cavan. It’s a hard
preparation for one’s own suffering and dying.”
We of the land of the Giollabhain had no fear of the
outcome but we had fear galore for those of our men and
woman who would be going forth to be wounded, or to die
completely.
Not far from Muira’s cottage a few meadows east, lived
a family of seven; a husband and wife with five children. The
oldest, a girl of fourteen, the second was a boy of thirteen. The
 134 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
remaining children were not considered adults and were too
young to partake of the coming war. The life of this family and
many another would change this summer forever.
During these days of preparation, the muther was making
supplies for the eating and care of her small children. The
husband was carrying off the animals to the king’s compound
where the selected men would see to care of the beasts. The
older two children would be in training for the making and use
of the weapons of war.
All would work about the ring fort of the Giollabhain,
digging and making the constructions needed for defense. The
days were long and the nights brief. The work proceeded briskly
through rain, wind and all the gloom of the springtime storms.
The father had to decide which of his children would stand
with him in the lines to face the enemy and which was child to
keep guard at the fort. His daughter was soon to marry and she
was a great help to her muther. Her loss would be the hardest for
the young ones. The boy was not yet at his strongest. Although
nimble, he would fall easily to a man’s blow with an ax. His own
loss and that of his son’s in the battle to come, would leave the
family with no man on the farm.
There was no way to choose the dying of his eldest children.
So, he decided by the only way any man who loves his family can
be choosing. He let them choose their fight for themselves. The
daughter chose to join a group of young warriors all with a gift
for the small bow and arrow. This group would fight with Eta
in the enchanted woods. From tree to tree in the thickets and
glens they would strike in ambush. If forced from the woods
they would fall back to the eastern ring fort and fight with the
long bow.
The young lad was dear to share his fate at his father’s side.
He wished no more than to have his father see him die as a man,
if he must. The father’s tears were many for his two darlings
were too soon to be lost from this life he shared with them.
Their only joy was to the safety of the muther and their three
small siblings.
The muther’s loss of her husband and elder two children
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 135
was immediate. For she may never gaze upon their dear smiling
faces again in this life. Her work at the fort was all the greater.
The small children were left to the care of the elderly as she
took up soldiering entirely. She knew that when the fight came
to her duty station at the fort, her husband and elder two
children would be dead and it was for certain that those who
would do this deed would be dying at her own hand where she
now stood. Her last hope on this earth would be that at her
ending someone would take the lives of her remaining children.
She did not want them to be sold into slavery. Better they would
be free to join her in the next life.
“Such was the mood of the people, Cavan, in those dark
days.”
“Did all go to fighting, Mame?”
“Indeed so my boy! Your own grandmuther was down at
digging in the muck around the fort itself and I’m still decent
with the bow today.”
Only the small children and the weak elderly were clear of
partaking in the workings for the war. Such it was in the whole
of the island from coast to coast. The fairies worked the hardest
for never taking of sleep at all. More mean the wee folk became
as they had no play or sport in those days.
In the west, few fisherman went to sea for there would be
no trade in Claith for some time. Just enough fish needed for
drying and storing at Oiche’s fort would be taken from the sea
that spring. Those who depend on the sea for living were off at
making their new home there behind the ramparts.
Nature herself took pity on the plight of the people in
her land. The ground was made easy for the digging. Many a
tree was wind felled that spring and quick to become part of a
new rampart. The distress of the animals was shown in the few
births to happen that spring. The wells about the fort were as
full as they could be by way of relieving the folk of the worry
of any drought. For all the water that fell from the sky, none
seemed to find it’s way to Cliath. The rivers and ponds about
the place were low and sure to vanish in the heat that was yet to
come upon the land. The fish took to hiding and avoiding the
 136 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN

nets completely around Cliath. Indeed, the birds so prodigious

in breeding about Cliath sought refuge elsewhere.
“The land and its people gave way to living as the hunted
fox. In a way, one might say that the island was invaded by high
emotions long before the strangers set foot ashore.”
 CHAPTER VI
Ní neart go curile chéile.
There is no strength without unity.

“Cavan, the worst time in preparing for a war that’s sure to

come is the coming of the fighting before the preparations are
entirely made. How meager our resources were compared to
the Emorians.” Cavan’s grandmuther recounts the tale.
 140 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
“Knowing this first hand, the king of the Giollabhain sent
word out to Oiche in the west that he was wanting to send a
force to hinder the Emorian’s effort long before the end of
spring. At first, Oiche thought such an idea as preposterous.
It was eventually Oiche’s agreement that a few men might be
sent over the sea and have a look about. They might even have
a hand at making trouble over there for the benefit of Mahr.
Upon Oiche’s recommendation, the spirit of the lake was to be
consulted for such an undertaking.
To call upon the spirit of the lake, the proper course of
action is to be taken in order for signs to be read. This is part
of the knowing you will learn from the Druid at Holy Grove,
Cavan. Ree, as you persist in the Druid way your time at the
Holy Grove is to come as well.
Omens are read from the sky, motion of the stars, changes
in the winds, the formations of the clouds and especially the
behavior of the birds for you, Cavan. The signs of the water are
read for the colors and motions of the in the lakes, rivers and
especially the sea and all life within. The signs of the land are
taken from the health and color of the plants, trees and animals
of the land.
In troubled times, the sky is disturbed first, then the waters
and then the land. For such a great feat as preventing the taking
of our island home from the enemy entirely, all the Druid must
gather. Each must first read the signs over many a time.
The grand masters of the Druids at the Holy Grove
convened the gathering of all the Druid of the island. The
place of their meeting was to be upon the holiest place on the
island to which all Druid are to attend, the great stone circle
at the Holy Grove. Here the Master Druid spent several days
taking counsel from his disciples directly. The Druid undertook
proceedings from the most secret of ways. Animal sacrifice was
to be a necessary undertaking. Indeed many offerings were to be
made until the Master Druid was certain of the response from
the counsel of the spirits that guide the doings of our lives.
‘Defending the mainland against the invading Emorians
may succeed only with those with connection to Spirit of
Maeve herself,’ spoke the master druid.”
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 141
There is no spirit of Mahr who will participate on such
an adventure across the sea. The blessings of the spirits must
be those already dun, for none will be found for the gathering
upon foreign soil. The council of druids has decided that only
those chosen from the Giollabhain may attempt such a task.
The spirits are clear that there is to be great haste and great
courage for those whom we send to unleash a sneak attack upon
the Emor across the sea.
With this said, the Master Druid called to myself to advise
the king of the Giollabhain. It would be by the choosing of the
Giollabhain entirely, that the undertakings for the making of a
sneak attack at Emor would be done.
In a gathering of the clans of the Giollabhain at the king’s
fort at the eastern sea wall, I advised the king that a choosing
from the people had to be made. All men and all women not as
yet holding up a family would be among those for the choosing
by Spirit of Maeve herself.
“How did Maeve make her choice, Mame?”
“Now Cavan, the muther spirit makes any choice of hers
known by the doings of nature. There is no other way of it.
All those wishing to take a part in the invasion from Mahr
were asked to gather a small piece of a stone from the waters
of the land of the Giollabhain. The stones are to be gathered
and presented before the king the very next day. The king of
the Giollabhain himself would have the Master Druid read the
signs from these stones and oversee the final choosing. Those
who wanted to change their opinion of going across the sea for
the purpose of war would submit no stone.
Many the man and woman, young and old alike were found
fishing about the waters of the Spirit Maeve that day. Indeed
the number of stones that would be presented to the king the
following day would sink the largest boat in the bay at Cliath.
The people were altogether anxious at the chance to land the
first blow of the war to be coming.”
“How could anyone make sense from so many stones?”
asked Cavan.
“The king let it be known that those with stones of black
 142 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
rock were to be dismissed. And many a black rock was flung off
to the bush in disgust. The king next called for rocks of brown
color to be gone from the choosing. Now the brown rock
seemed to be the rock of choice by the folks of Giollabhain, as
the king had quickly lowered the number for the choosing from
a great many to a very few. The last call for the rocks by the king
was then made.
‘Since the troubled sea must be traveled with only the sky
to guide us, let those with stones of blue gray be chosen,’ said
he.
Spirit of Maeve chose three good souls that day, Cavan.
Your uncles Leigh and Fergus were the first to come forward to
stand claim to their duty from the chieftain of the Giollabhain.
The third and last person to be chosen by way of the colored
stone was Brogan, the youngest daughter of the king himself,
only being fourteen years old. The king wished to disqualify his
daughter being that she was of age to marry. But his daughter
was quick to convey her desire to go. She was every bit as brave
as your uncles.
I’m sure you’ll have the opportunity to know this young
lassie in good time. It is said that her beauty compares to that of
Maeve herself, for her hair is golden also.
These three had gathered the only rocks of blue to be
found from all over the land of the Giollabhain. There was no
bit of a doubt that these three were the only ones fit enough to
be called for the task of a sneak attack of the mainland.
The king called my two sons and his daughter to cross
over the sea at the first of spring. There they were to determine
much of the plans of the Emor for the invasion as they could
mange. If possible they were to strike mainly at the sea craft
of the Emorians in hope that they could hinder the invasion of
Mahr. The challenge was accepted eagerly. The three started
immediately for the port of the Cliath.
As they were making their way just to edge of Cliath,
they come upon a small a lad who has chanced to get stuck in
a sagging bog. For sure this youth was going for his end if no
help was to come forth. The invading army of three fashioned
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 143
a ladder from a sapling tree. Reaching out across the way, they
pulled the boy from the bog, and his life was spared directly.
It seems the boy had wandered far from his uncle’s home
nearby. His family had been searching about for him all day.
They feared the Pouka took him away. So great was their
anxiety over the lad that a large sum was offered for his return.
Many the folk about had already quit the field for the searching
and calling out to the lost lad.
The invaders from Mahr saw the boy safely to his father’s
care. Grateful, the father offers much gold as compensation for
the lad’s life. The notion of any reward was refused as no price
may be put on decency. They inform the lad’s father that they
are on their way across the sea to look for work and good pay.
‘If it’s work and travel you be wanting, then look no further
said the boy’s da.’
The father it seems was visiting his business interests
in Cliath, which are managed by his brother. The man owns
warehouses in Cliath as well as all along the great river Dano
that runs form the mountains to the sea in the land of the
Emor. The father offered passage across the sea, and work for
the three on river transports.
“There’s always the want of hands aboard a ship crossing
to the mainland this time of year. And the work on the rivers of
the mainland never ends since the Emor have taken over all the
land along side the coast and far in on the main land,” Said he.
In Cliath, the distant merchant has hired a rugged crew to
sail a small ship over the rough late winter sea. The rewards for
sea travel at this time are great as the stores of the past summer
are low in stock all about the mainland. Almidah’s armies
require much in preparation for their coming campaigns. The
goods shipped presently from Mahr will bring extra profit. The
warehouses of Cliath are swelled with goods to be traded. The
merchant from Emor has again dealt early with the Chead and
his returns by spring’s end shall again be large.
The ship’s hull was full of smoked meats, cheese and dried
pork. Only those of the mainland with wealth will acquire these
 144 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
late winter delicacies. The merchant, his son and the crew
of nine counting the threesome from Giollabhain set sail as
soon as the sky was clear. With brisk winter winds to drive the
ship, the time of travel to the mainland is fast if not altogether
safe. For many an adventurer was sent to the ocean bottom by
sudden swells of the sea sent from great storms ragging far out
of one’s sight. But the luck that has made a large fortune for the
merchant from Emor did not fail. The threesome accomplished
their first crossing as they set foot upon the strange land of the
Emor at the mouth of the river Dano.
The river Dano divides Almidahh’s empire into two. The
river runs the path along which Almidahh’s first conquests
were made. It’s from this river that the southern and northern
campaigns are launched. The river was crowded with barges and
vessels of all descriptions carrying troops and various stocks of
goods. Most supplies and persons moving through the land
ruled by the Emor must pass on this river.
Now there are many spirits both small and great along this
mighty river. All of who are unknown to Muira’s children. The
ways were known of the Druid to Leigh and Fergus from their
muther’s teachings. Muira’s children know how to conduct
themselves without offending the gods of other lands. The
customs and manners of the many people along the river
made it easy for the trio to move about without suspicion.
The weather was damp and they had the hoods of their tunics.
However, disguise was not necessary with all the various races
of people moving about. They were quick to notice that the
land about the river they visited lacked much of the mystique of
the waterways of Mahr. It must be the complete absence of the
wee folk about the mainland, they all determined.
Their work for the merchant required them to labor on
a barge that passed up and down the three major ports along
the great river Dano.”Let us see this tale!” Commands Cavan.
Muira and Ree are egar as well.
# A number of ships are being so collected. Here he informs
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 145
The ocean port of Galatia is found at the mouth of
the river. This place is many times the size of Cliath. It is a
great city with the number of visitors alone that may count
in the ten thousands. There are a surprising number of
slaves about doing labor on the buildings and grounds. The
three from Mahr make their first assault at a port in Emor
with a population greater than Mahr itself. The prospect
for Mahr’s aggression here is abundant indeed.
The grateful merchant has a home setting high upon a
hill that overlooks the bay. Huge fortifications have recently
been built about this bay. The land of the merchant’s birth
is a recent acquisition of Almidah. Although many have
suffered, those who deal in trade proved useful to Almidah
by serving the vast Emorian Empire. The trio lived aboard
a large barge and worked the loading and unloading while
sailing along the Dano.
Galatia sits nestled among hills that run along the coast
which provide a natural barrier to a standard military style
invasion. The valley of Galatia has a wide natural harbor
and much land along the river’s shore for commerce,
residence and fortification. The hills give a natural defense
from attack by land and they are heavily lined with sentry
posts of the Emor guards.
Here the trio is amazed at the expanse of the shoreline
and the great busy markets. There are throngs of people
busy at every sort of trade. Many commercial activities are
new to them and Mahr seems as a bubble compared to the
immensity of Galatia’s wealth. The harbor there is filled
with countless vessels from foreign lands and the people
speak in languages never heard by their ears. They are
quick to view the disposition of troop placements of the
Emor about Galatia.
The merchant informs the trio that the Emor have
recently confiscated his only seaworthy ship and it’s
anchored around the northern point of the bay of Galatia.
that a small garrison of ships has arrived. There is royalty
 146 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
present as the personal banners of Almidah fly about this
compound.
#
“Why are there so many foreign looking people in this
place?” Asks Ree
“Galatia serves as one great window of commerce for
goods coming to the mainland. These are easily dispersed along
the Dano for use by the empire.” Answers Cavan to Muira’s
delight.
The Emor keep great fires aglow at night along the Dano in
late spring and summer for additional movement of transports
along the river at night. In early spring, the rains and fog yet
prevent much night sailing on the Dano. So the barge operated
by the trio moves about by day. The next major port is Lasi,
which is found several days travel up the Dano.”
“We need to see more of this world!” Cavan says with
authority. “Maeve, we are grateful for your showings. We learn
much from your waters.”
# on the river has priority but there is always a great flow of
The villages that line outside the city of Lasi are the
most fortified in the whole of the Emorian Empire. A
dozen large forts ring this town. For here a second great
river, the Tsaro makes it’s way from the southeast to join
the Dano. The Emorian’s army that fights the southern
campaign is stationed here. This river’s crossroad is
crucial for the defense of the empire. An enemy’s army
arriving from the south would sail easily along the Dano
to its headwater where Almidah makes her home. Hence,
Almidah’s uneasiness over her plans for the final conquest
to her south.
The southern army is by far the largest of the Emor.
The complex required for its support sprawls for a day’s
walk in any direction from Lasi. There are compounds of
reserve soldiers training for movement to the empire’s
southern borders. Vast complexes of material stored ready
for transport to the battle lines anywhere in the empire.
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 147
The trio’s transport carries barrels of iron goods
arriving by sea for use in the southern campaign from
Galatia to Lasi. They transport nails, arrowheads and
cinches for the tethers of horse and ox. Metal hubs and
rings used in wagons to carry supplies. The large army
of the south must pass through long, dry, barren regions.
Supplies of water must be carried in casks.
They sail up to Durdec for a shipment of food and
wine before returning. Durdec is the third major port off
the Dano. Here marks the end of the river’s great flow that
permits the grand commerce of the Dano. Almidah’s home
is a still many days travel by the lesser flow of the Dano.
Durdec is part of the original homeland of the Emor. All
the people there keep its defense. It remains less a military
necessity than a port of commerce. The northern campaign
is mounted by the Emorians from here to protect the land
already gained and to push further north to claim more.
Most goods are disposed at Lasi, but some are bound
for trade between Galatia and Durdec. The military traffic
commerce required upon the Dano long before the Emor
came.
#
“This river is mighty in the people and ships upon its water.
A whole world of it’s own is shown to us.” Remarks Cavan.
“I have never seen so much material and goods.” Ree
states.
“The heavy currents of the Dano to the sea make return
time from Durdec to Lasi to Galatia a third less than the labor
up river. The three are quick to realize the opportunities that
lie for making great trouble at each of the main ports on the
Dano. They plan to act upon the return trip from Durdec.”
Muira responds.
Maeve does not wait to be asked.
#
 148 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
In Port Durdec, the barge operated by the three from
Giollabhain lay ties at the dock for reasons of unloading
goods to be stored there. Such activities cost several days
as stores may be taken to one or more select warehouses.
During the normal business of the barge, Leigh notices
that among the holding pens for animals a large barn has
held many small children and young women of tall blond
stature. This compound is located on the northern shore
of the Dano just east of the village. Some of the women and
children carry heavy stones from one compound moving
it to another place in order to build a new compound.
Almidah’s cleansing of the northern tribes has begun. The
first of her captives have arrived. These northern people
are soon to be transported to Lasi, then south on the river
Tsaro. They will soon enter the southern slave markets.
Near the slave compound is found a corral of horses
bound to the northern army of the Emor. The number
of guards is not as many at Durdec, which is far from the
frontiers of armed conflict.
Across to the southern shore of the Dano, there are
many wooden barges busy with goods to be placed in a large
array of wooden warehouses that line the shore. Now little
if any of the material of Durdec would find it’s way to the
invasion of Mahr by Paolo’s army. However, any trouble in
this port would create many problems for the already busy
river Dano that is soon to be made busier with the arrival of
the warm season. Leigh is up for making the first attack of
the war between Mahr and Emor at Durdec.
“With all the wood afloat and ashore, several small
fires started about the place could easily grow into an
grand inferno. The smoke and heat would keep all about
the port busy as we make our escape west on the Dano,”
says Leigh.
“We’ve a nice supply of lard aboard. We could fashion
several balls from lard wrapped in linen that may be made
for the throwing of it in the right places. In a few quick
minutes we can start a grand blaze,” answers Fergus.
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 149
“But what of the women and children? How will they
escape? Where will they go if they do escape?” These words
came forth with great emotion from the little Brogan.
“It’s not much of a way of fighting a war to come so far
just to leave off with no much as a spit in the eye,” Fergus
replies impatiently.
“What if your muther was held in that filthy barn? I’m
betting the first thought out of your head would be the
taking of her to freedom.” Brogan’s eyes are watery from
thoughts of losing her family and their inevitable slavery,
should the Emor claim the island of Mahr.
“Well woman, it’s right you are, and Fergus, we’ve
a duty to confront the enemy as quick as the fox would
snatch a bunny from its nest. If you are agreeing, we’ll do
both here this very night. Fergus is to swim over to the
other shore for striking the first blow. Brogan and myself
here will make our way as the flames rise to release the
blond ones from their bondage. Brogan, with her gold hair
shall be useful.”
“The women must have some time to compose a
way out, other wise they’ll be quick to the capture by the
Emor.” Brogan insists.
“The only way for it then is for yourself to enter the
holdings with the slaves and make our plans known to
themselves at once.” Leigh knows this is the only way for
the three to help the northern captives.
“We’ll make you up as a child escaped from the holding
pen. I, by way of duteous service to the queen, will claim
yourself as a found stow away in our barge. Are you up to
this Brogan?”
Brogan swallows hard and with the widest eyes Leigh
and Fergus have ever noticed on such a small pretty face,
she nods her willingness. Making her dress in the fashion
of the animal hides worn by those of the north, Leigh binds
the girl’s wrists together. The two then march straight
from the dock to the gates of the holding pen of Almidah’s
slaves.
 150 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
“This ones for getting away! The queen will not be
happy to lose the purse from this slave child,” Leigh
informs the guard.
Not wishing to bring the commanders about and
suspecting Brogan to have strayed upon the slave bunch’s
first arrival, the guard simply places her in with the group
of northern captives.
“Your lucky the rats did not take you first,” laughs the
guard.
“They be shipped off in a day or so by barge,” he
informs Leigh.
Once within the dark and foul smelling shed, Brogan
is quick to spot Anta, a royal princess, daughter of a king
of the north who is sitting in the far corner surrounded
by her warriors. This young woman of regal bearing and
statuesque beauty has a fierce temper. Suddenly Anta’s
stare catches on Brogan.
“You are not of my people. You are not of the north.
How come you are captive here?” Anta is suspicious of the
young woman from Mahr.
“I’m here to help.” Answers Brogan.
Anta continues. “My brothers are dead or missing in
the woods of my land. My father and my muther have been
murdered. Most of the homes of our people are burned and
destroyed. The children and young muthers of my people
are held in bondage. I am to be queen among slaves with
my land held by barbarians. And now I’m to be mocked by a
stranger in front of my people.
“All is not with out hope. There are forces that Almidah
and the Emor may not conqueror. There is help for those to
be found here this very night. “Brogan eagerly informs Anta
of the plans for a great fire that night. She approaches her
only to be stopped in her tracks by the queen’s warriors.
Anta takes one long look at Brogan, as if inspecting her
soul and gestures for the girl to sit and speak with her. Anta
suggests that she and some of her warriors accompany the
barge along the Dano.
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 151
“We can either stay here and rot, or trust what you say
is true and make for escape. It is my pleasure to destroy
much here in the homelands of the Emor for what they
have done to my land and people. To die fighting my great
foe would be preferred to slavery.”
“However, I need to consider the safety of my people
held here. There are horses just outside the holding pens.
I shall send my people with their children on horseback
northward to join their men in hiding. They shall burn and
destroy much of the resources of the enemy as they return
to the north.”
The captives upon being freed determine the only
course of action is to take horses in nearby corals and
confiscate weapons from the guards on duty. They have to
take the lives of several Emorian guards and act quickly. An
alarm is bound to get out fast. As many as could ride are to
return to their homelands.
Early that evening Leigh and Fergus load the barge
with empty casks and shipping crates. The barge will keep
the appearance of commerce as it sails west of the Dano.
Fergus makes thirty or so clumps of lard. A linen sack
sealed with oil will carry his weapons as he swims across to
the southern shore of the Dano. Hot embers he wraps with
moist leaves to carry. Fergus enters the water to commence
the war by attacking the nearby storage houses.
Leigh makes his way in the darkening sky to the
holding pens on the northern shore upon which his barge is
docked at the ready. He moves his way with stealth among
the warehouses, barns and sheds and corrals. It is the end
of a very busy day. The people of Durdec take rest. The
guards of the Emor keep watch with mild interest.
Fergus is quick to move to the rear of the storehouses
of southern Durdec from which a northwestern wind
prevails. By blowing on a hot ember, a clump of lard
wrapped with linen is lit and placed within a moderately
crowded gathering hall. As he makes his way to the
riverbank, Fergus leaves flame at many places. His final
 152 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
volleys of fire are made on several large barges. The dry
wood used for buildings soon reaches to large flames.
The heat and wind swirl about as they spread the growing
flames about the southern bank causing quite a stir.
Leigh waits in hiding till dusk when the lights from
the fires across the river are large. He strikes quickly at
the lone guard about the holding pens. The captives move
in two groups. One to the horse corral, the other to a store
of weapons. Swords and arrows provide ample arms for a
quick escape. Leigh and Brogan lead Anta and her warriors
toward the barge. The main band of northern women
traveled the main road out of Durdec north right away. By
first light they will move into the forests. Their way north
will be easy, as they will avoid major fortifications while
pillaging and burning the smaller outposts. With their
movement north will go all suspicion. Lasi will remain
unprepared for ambush from the Dano.
As the escapees reach the barge, Fergus makes his
return. The call to fire is being sounded and people are
stirring as a result. However, the fires have spread among
dozens of barges along the southern dock and several large
warehouses. Leigh’s barge moves into the current of the
Dano flowing to Lasi to escape. There is panic and chaos as
the people scramble about, some guards attempt to put the
fires out, while others try to gather the straying horses.
# to wait upon his next command.
“Those poor women in all that filth. How cruel!” Cries
Ree.
“That fire is huge. So much damage from so few.” Cavan is
amazed.
The damage done was not nearly as much as Leigh and
the others had hoped. The goods lost would easily be replaced
and the ships lost on the river would only temporarily delay the
plans of Almidah. Yet any time gained was precious. More to
the good was the fact that war had begun by way of few people
from Mahr showing a gain of courage.”
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 153
Along with Anta, are many young warrior like women.
They are all tall compared to the Emorians. The blond women
of the north are athletic and skilled in archery. However, many
have lost their home and family to which they may not return.
These girls were eager to help fight by way of surprise attack
along the Dano. They hide upon the open barge by day in the
empty casks and crates. The barge makes to land for forage and
to avoid suspicion of hurried movement by night.
Anta assumes the male dress of a barge worker and
keeps the company of Leigh. She has much of the way of the
wilderness in her and she responds to the steadfast strength
of Leigh. Together they shall plan a major attack upon the
Emorians at Lasi.
Again Muira responds with out request.
#
The barge makes its way slowly out of Durdec through
the night with Leigh making the helm. After traveling clear
from the notice of any watch, the barge makes a stop at a
moonlit cove for the remainder of the evening.
The first night Anta and her band of fighting ladies are
exuberant with the thrill of freedom and the excitement of
revenge upon the Emorians.
“Be still now, the bunch of you will be waking the dead
from the land all about these parts,” Leigh speaks sternly.
The girls take to silence at once and all aboard go to sitting
Anta finds herself sitting at attention with her
subjects, and is herself embarrassed. Without words, she
looks hard at this plain looking oaf of a foreigner. He has
no looks of a lord yet his words are as noble. His clothes
are soiled from the fire and long hours of work upon the
river, she has the urge to dust him off and wash him when
suddenly Leigh speaks to her. His blue eyes seem to meet
hers while he speaks but she cannot follow his trail of
thought. She becomes faint.
Anta is not able to concentrate, instead finds her eyes
 154 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
cast to the floor trying to focus on what he is saying. Finally
she looks at him directly as he as speaking. She understands
not. His blue eyes radiate out of the moonlit night and
pierce her soul in a way she has never felt. Anta is not able
to look away from Leigh. She wants to hear his voice, and
she wants to be closer to his presence.
“You there! You seem to have charge of this bunch,”
Leigh inquires.
An unexpected nervousness settles upon her as soon
as she knows that he has taken notice of her presence. She
hesitates. Her face flushes and her words stumble as she
tries to nod and say her name.
“Mynanta,” she mumbles and immediately is aware of
her awkwardness.
Her feminine comrades are quick to notice that Anta
is not composed. They convey this through half met gazes
at each other.
Anta takes a deep breath, aware of the snickering and
stares directed by all towards her. She stands, back erect,
shoulders squared. She is nearly a full hand taller than
Leigh. She cannot break her eyes from him.
“I am a leader. My name is Anta,” she states.
Leigh is quick to notice something in her eyes. This lady
has emotion. He speaks trying to quell the awkwardness of
a prolonged silence.
“Well if Anta has nothing to add, then our meeting is
done.” He looks confused as the girls gather to leave the
inner chamber of the barge.
“Wait, I have something to say,” Anta blurts out. Her
followers hesitate once more.
Anta breathes slowly. She pauses before proceeding.
Perhaps the long night’s effort has worn her. Her voice is
subdued and she uncharacteristically averts her eyes. She
speaks as if a child before an angry parent. “These warriors
are my people. They are to follow my orders,” She hesitates
to see if he takes anger. She beholds the raggedness of the
man with his powerful looking arms and his blue eyes.
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 155
Leigh’s attention is lost to her words. Despite soiled
clothing, she has yet a beauty that captivates. Amazed
that after the trials of that evening, she is clean and pure.
He notices her command upon the docks. Her manner is
dignified and her readiness is that of a great warrior of
steady courage. Behind the warrior, however, he can see a
woman of loveliness and purity rare as she stands before
him.
“Yes, you are a queen from the north. Brogan has told
me of you. We are from the island of Mahr. We will fight the
Emorians. Are you and your warriors to join us?”
He rubs his nose then smoothes his hair back with his
hand. Surely he must repulse her. She must think him daft
as well he thinks to himself. He stands straight and feigns
confidence.
“Yes, we will join you against our common enemy. And
after perhaps, one day we may return to our own land.”
“You will have command of your warriors here.
Together we shall fight them. Can you sail a barge?” His
tone of voice cracks from emotion when he speaks. Anta
stops herself before she could smile.
“We thank you for giving us our freedom. Yet we know
the task before us is great. We shall fight with you for as
long as we are able to stand. We do have sufficient skills at
sea.” Her warriors nod in agreement.
“Good! Rest you troops this night. Let no one stir at
morning’s light least our true business be known. Early
in the day we shall make plans. You, Fergus, Brogan and
myself shall decide the way of our fates, which will bind
together. We are grateful for your aid.” Leigh’s eyes linger
on Anta’s face trying to memorize the curve of her cheek.
The next day council is held.
Their own barge remained in the shaded cove where it
was sheltered for the night. Anta’s warriors were wrapped
in linen tunics in the way of the river folk. They separated
so as not to be noticed. Some made busy about the view
of the barge moving supplies and food to give the look of
 156 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
commerce to traffic moving along the Dano. Others were
afoot scouting the approaches by land for heading off any
surprise.
“We must make great trouble at Lasi for our people’s
sake,” says Fergus.
“Much trouble will be found by the Emorians by way of
the northern people,” adds Anta.
“If we use our strengths together, we can mount a
surprise ambush and inflict much damage,” Leigh replies.
“We have lots of oil and linen on board, the attack by
fire is most effective…let’s burn the whole place,” offers
Fergus.
“Not so fast, Fergus…Lasi is to big to be carrying
flames all about. Besides, the soldiers of the Emor stand by
the twos under every tree,” Brogan comments.
Brogan notices that Leigh and Anta are staying close
to each other. She thinks that this woman is not even from
Giollabhain. Leigh couldn’t be serious at thinking this one
is a woman for him.
“There are two many buildings, too many guards,
and too few of us. But no Emor can stand upon the water.
They’ll look for an attack or trouble from the land only.
The waterways are theirs!” Leigh assures that their attack
shall be made swiftly from the river.”We people from the
north are skilled with the long bow as well. Any one of us
can place a flaming arrow in a ship or building from the
distance across the Dano,” Anta informs.
# no one else who can achieve this task. For once the guards
“I think Leigh and Anta love each other from first sight.”
Ree sighs.
“There’s no time for romance, Ree…Uncle Leigh is at war!”
Cavan scolds.
The great inland port of Lasi rests upon the confluence
of the great river Dano with it’s major contributory, the river
Tsaro. The village of Lasi developed such that the meeting of
the two rivers lies in the west of the city. The two rivers converge
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 157
just before a great bend, west of the city. Here the river Dano
widens but there is only one narrow deep channel for the river
transports to pass. The water of the Dano passes through this
bend flowing over shifting sandbars and rocky shoals. The
current through the channel is always swift and great care is
needed in its navigation. Heavy movement of barges on the
river can become delayed as the largest of ships will not pass
one another in the narrows of this bend for fear of collision and
the closing of the channel by a sunken barge.
#
The barge of the invaders floats slowly toward Lasi.
They have timed their arrival to coincide with day’s end.
The barge will dock at the eastern end of Lasi near the
storehouses of the casks used for the drinking water.
“Our mission must be clear, short and cause much
devastation. We must immediately head off afterwards.”
Leigh calls the crews to attention.
Brogan and Fergus were anxious, as is Anta. Most of
the warrior women of the north sit quiet among the empty
baskets and casks.
“Let me set the fires! I did it well in Durdec, did I not?”
Fergus is eager for the task.
“This time I want to do something with Anta,” Brogan
is pushing to have Leigh’s special interest.
“Brogan, our main attack upon the Emor relies on our
success at Lasi. The plan I propose will work only if you can
distract the guards on the dock at the precise time. There is
move toward you, Fergus will set fires in the warehouse of
the water casks as he did in Durdec.”
Brogan blushes with pride for herself and is sure all
must see her importance to Leigh and the entire invasion.
Anta nods in agreement.
“Fergus, this time you have the benefit of practice in
throwing the torches. There will be little surprise and less
time to act in Lasi.”
 158 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
“For sure, Leigh, I’ll land 5 or 6 fireballs among the
barrels as quick as you can blink an eye. Once thrown, I’ll
swim back to the barge.”
“Not this time, Fergus. Anta will have a small craft to
receive Brogan and you from the dock. Myself alone will
take the barge down the through the great bend of the
Dano before you act.”
“It’s too dangerous for you alone during the day.”
Brogan is greatly alarmed that Leigh is putting himself in
such danger. Anta’s expression goes pale upon hearing this.
She searches Leigh’s face to measure his intentions.
“I’ll move slowly and my vision at night will guide
better than most by day for there will be no glare to bind
me, nor any other craft to confuse the way. By the time I’ve
made shore after the deed you’ll be near about upon me in
your small crafts.”
Leigh is surprised by the concern of Brogan and
delighted to have the chance to show himself off for the
beautiful Anta. Besides, if he should failure in his effort
only himself will be lost. The deed might still be done that
night at Lasi and the bunch yet to have a chance to make on
to Galatia.
“Leigh, several of my girls are excellent swimmers.
Several can make about the docks cutting lose barges to
float away and give us cover as we escape.”
“And sure it’s a great notion of an idea. Brogan, once
you see the first barges adrift, that’s the time for you and
Fergus to set the warehouse ablaze. Anta, you and your
crew must be at the ready. The girls of your choosing shall
make way by small craft down each side of the Dano cutting
loose as many barges as they are able. Once the fire is large
all must make straight to the bend where I’ll be waiting.”
“These loose barges will also be set fire after our barge
is at a safe distance,”
Anta says. Leigh is once again indebted to Anta’s
insight.
By the time the barge reaches it’s destination at Lasi,
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 159
all are prepared. Their barge lay lifeless until the great
quite of night. Fergus is sent to gather a number of swift
skips tied around the docks. These small oar driven crafts
would be used by the force and provide their escape.
Leigh takes the barge out upon the Dano and heads for
the great bend past the western end of Lasi. Torches are
being lit just past dusk along the shore area. The crafts of
swimmers move toward the moors of large heavily loaded
barges and begin their work. On both sides of the river
swimmers are cutting barges free and quietly returning
to their skips to be transported along the river to the next
target.
Fergus and Brogan make their way to the storehouse
of interest. As they notice the first barge drift freely out to
the middle current of the Dano, Brogan ran past the guards
crying out with screams of a wounded banshee. The guards
give chase towards the hysterical girl. Fergus slips into the
warehouse. In a flash, six concoctions of lard and flame are
thrown about and Fergus is off to the river and swimming
out to Anta and her waiting crew. Brogan reaches the water
ahead of him and plunges herself in. The guards reach the
shore just behind her. Here they are greeted with a hail of
shafts from the long bows of Anta’s warriors.
The fire spreads quickly all about the warehouse of
wooden barrels.
Not all the barrels are empty. By miscalculations and
great fortune, the fireballs have landed on barrels of olive
oil. By the time the guards could gather their senses, the
small crafts are darting between the slow heavy barges
adrift on the Dano. Oil barrels explode sending flames all
about the crowded docks.
As the barge made it’s way down the Dano, Leigh
navigates by reading the stars in the night sky. He lets the
barge drift. It has no weight in goods to be driven by the
current and it responds easily to the helm and moves out of
Lasi as sure as if it were day.
#
 160 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
Muira interrupts. “Leigh was not worried about passing
the barge through the big bend. He was more the worried about
the speed of the thing once going through. The strength of
the current and the force on the barge as it went through the
bend might well send the whole thing crashing. Furthermore,
as soon as it past the bend, he had to find a quick cove to dock
and wait out his crew leaving off from their mission behind him
in Lasi.”
“How would he slow the thing for stopping? If he lost the
barge, for sure the whole lot of them would soon be afoot and
he would be easy for the taking by the pursuing troops of the
Emor.” Cavan is frantic at the sight of his uncle drifting in the
rush of a strong current.
# herself.
The barge is quickly out of Lasi and minutes away from
entering the grandest bend in the whole of the river Dano.
Leigh can make out the light in the sky over Lasi from the
fire on the dock.
“Hurrah for the lot of them!” Leigh shouts.
They are giving fits to Almidah’s plan for sure. Leigh
reckons that Brogan and Fergus are off with Anta and the
small crafts are making straight to him.
Leigh wonders why the two girls are putting up a fuss
on his account. He muses that had he passed the two as
strangers in Lasi, neither would have batted an eye at him.
Brogan has known him most her life but now she is
making wifely noises at him.
Anta is eyeing him as a puppy waiting to have a grand
meal. Never has he had so much feminine attention. Never
has he felt the cravings for a lady as Anta has stirred in
himself. He feels that if he doesn’t take Anta in his arms for
cuddling soon she will be after him with a spear. As soon as
he should accomplish that, for sure Brogan will be asking
for something grander by himself to be doing for the likes
of her. The pair of those lassies is going to be mad at him for
their needs, felt but unanswered. If the girls get out from
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 161
Lasi with their hides intact, then he knows that he’ll be
required to kiss one or both in gratitude. At this thought,
he smiles gleefully to himself to have the need to entertain
such ideas!
The barge leaps as it reaches the fastest currents in
the bend. Leigh awakes from dreams of love and romance.
The barge goes through the bend much as a bunny turns
from a chasing hound. Leigh sets its course straight down
the Dano. It is a hard helm to the left for the turn and a
quick recovery once through the turning. The barge heaves
to one side with the second maneuver of the helm. Water
splashes up on over the gunnels onto the barge and falls
upon Leigh.
“Cold! That’s cold water!” Yells Leigh to the barge
In that instant, Leigh fears the barge might take on
water enough to be sinking all at once. With a second kick
much as by a horse with a bad disposition, the barge rights
it’s course. It’s tipping about while responding to the helm
has slowed the thing. Leigh makes right off to the nearest
cove. Shallow enough with hardly a current to make a
ripple, Leigh puts the barge to a stop.
As he waits, Leigh’s thoughts are of the great effort
of those behind him. Their swimming about in the cold
waters of the Dano is magnificent all together. They have
to beat the loosened barges through the bend otherwise
some might be crushed. His own barge might get run over
by the cascading flotilla on the river. Once they make on to
him they have to be quick back out onto the Dano and race
off from the runaway traffic.
There is a great light in the sky now. Lasi has a terrible
problem with the fire set by Fergus. There’s no mistaking
that there is movement on the river coming downstream to
the bend. Friend or foe, Leigh starts a fire aboard the vessel
for warming of the folks and for their seeing of his barge.
Leigh brings out dry clothes from the stores to greet Anta
and the rest. It seems natural for him to be thinking of her
first.
 162 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
The rush of the small paddled vessels is much as a
great race one might see upon the river of Cliath during
Beltaine. There is no competition in the arms that row
toward Leigh’s boat now. Sheer panic is taken from the
sight of loose barges following behind that drive the crews
on to Leigh.
“There’s several dozen of the grandest barges not far
behind,” shouts Fergus as he makes onto Leigh.
“It is wild and grand! The fire seems to run from one
building to the next as if it has a life of it’s own.” Brogan is
terrible with shivers that rock her and the barge itself.
“Get to the fire girl. Wrap yourself in this wool and
keep still till your blood is unfrozen entirely. Where’s
Anta?” Leigh’s eyes search about the small craft coming in
to the barge.
“She dropped us and set out to help her girls recover to
here. Oh Leigh, there was some grand archery set upon the
Emorians this night, I’m telling you. As soon as a guard set
eyes upon us, Anta’s shaft was after him no matter what the
distance. Be careful of that temper me boy!” Brogan says as
she winks at Leigh.
Anta is the last aboard the barge. She is the last to take
to the fire. She is the last to be seen to for dry clothes. Her
first act upon the barge is to handle the needs for making
the barge drift off down the Dano. Leigh for the first time
comes to know the makings of a noble queen.
“You handled this barge as you might care for a small
child. It’s no trick to row through that bend.” Anta’s words
are spoken to Leigh full with admiration. She thinks of no
other man who may have completed the feat of Leigh this
night, from the north or no! Anta looks at him in awe and
admiration.
# I think it wise if you and your band were to accompany
As they make way down the river, they do not come to
know the great damage they had delivered to their enemy that
night. More than a quarter of the storage at Lasi was burned
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 163
completely. A great tangle of runaway barges would crash in the
bend with several sunk to the bottom of the narrow channel
through the great bend.
The Emor lost a full month if not more of preparation. All
campaigns would be delayed. The complications by way of the
time gained and new fortifications by the enemy of the Emor in
the south would bring the war there to a draw.
Almidah had never suffered such a set back. In fact it is
said that the loss suffered that night caused such detriment in
Almidah’s fleets, that it gave Mahr a small bit of a chance in its
fight to come.
“That was wonderful.” Comments Cavan.
“They all risked their lives for us Cavan.” Ree declares.
“Almidah would never send her army east to cross the great
White Mountains,” Informs Muira.
#
The barge with Leigh and the exhausted band of river
raiders are closing upon Galatia. Leigh’s thoughts are of
Anta and home. Mahr has no idea of the size of the force
Almidah may send against her. Yet he knows that the
power of the spirits of Mahr is great.
“You are gone from us,” Anta interrupts his thoughts.
“Rest with your warriors as night shall soon break.
We will arrive at our home dock in Galatia early on the day
coming.” Leigh is watching Anta as she steps closer toward
him.
Anta feels a need to be with Leigh. She wants to be
touched by him. If she was home among her people she
could command his attention. Aboard this barge she is
without such power. She is helpless before him and she
likes it thus.
“Anta, what will you do when we arrive to Galatia?
us. However, this may places you and your warriors in
grave danger. Or do you turn your band to march north?”
Leigh steps towards Anta. He stands close to her and can
 164 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
smell the saltiness of her skin. He searches her eyes for
response.
“We shall go with you and fight along beside your
people. What we once called home is just a memory.”
“Fergus, Brogan and I must make sail out of Galatia as
soon as possible. The information we have must be made
known to the leader of the peoples of our island.”
Anta has no answer. She remains quietly waiting.
His arms reach for her. His strong rough hands hold her
shoulders. Anta does not resist. Her eyes wide and open
search his face for his feelings. He moves her wet hair out
of her face. She closes her eyes and moves herself against
his chest. There she rests. Leigh kisses her forehead softly,
sweetly and she relaxes further into his embrace.
Leigh has never known such softness from a woman.
Anta is more than wonderful and he feels as if he is finally
at home. Anta shall never leave his side, nor is Leigh ever
again to think of separation from her.
#
“That was beautiful!” Ree’s tears flow from the love found
by Leigh and Anta.
“Did not you dreams tell of your future husband ?” Asks
Muira.
“I saw my brother Cavan as a man traveling with a
handsome stranger.
My heart was filled with great anxiety for their safety. I
could sense the soul of my brother’s companion.” Ree answers.
“This tale is not over…Please continue Maeve?” Begs
Cavan.
#
The barge reaches Galatia at midmorning. The blond
warriors from the north hide among the empty stores
on the barge. Leigh is for taking a sea vessel straight out
towards Mahr. He knows they need to get out of there
quick, if they are to get out of there at all.
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 165
“We shall wait till sunset, then take the barge around
to the northern point to the compound there just as if we
would bring provisions by sea,” speaks Leigh.
“Why don’t we take one of their sea vessels,” suggests
Fergus.
“Aye, and burn the place as well,” says Brogan.
“This barge we shall load with stocks of oil. On the
far side of the point we shall leave off our friends from the
north. The ladies shall reboard upon a sea vessel borrowed
from the Emor. This barge we shall leave docked among the
other vessels. When we start back we shall leave a burning
ember upon it. For as fast as the fire spreads, the news will
reach Almidah.”
Now, all are aware that river transports bring supplies
by seacoast around the point to places just north of Galatia.
Leigh is most concerned by the sea voyage back to Mahr at
night. The loss of vision of the stars by a clouded night sky
might well take them off course onto the unknown ocean.
Many ships so lost have never returned.
At dusk this evening, Leigh sets the barge upon the
bay to cross around the point to Paolo’s compound. The
barge pitches and rolls with the ocean crests. The sea is not
rough, but even the roll of a calm sea is much for his crew
to handle. Anta and her band are left stranded upon the
point. They are relieved of the sea voyage upon the barge’s
present mission.
Leigh’s barge approaches the docks in front of the
army of Paolo that is soon to depart for their invasion of
Mahr. Here, no trouble is be made as it is best to skip out
to sea quickly before notice. Brogan counts the number of
fires upon the shore.
“Many dozen at best,” says she. “No way is there ten
thousand troops camped here. There are no more than 20
some ships at the ready. They can’t be very serious with this
outfit.”
“Suppose they have five thousand men and another 20
ships yet to be delivered. This bunch could sail to Mahr in
 166 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 167

a week or so. If they have two thousand of the lot hardened one last gift of flame. By the time Anta and company are
by previous battles of the islands, then Mahr is in for a aboard, the barge is high glowing with flames. The swift
tough time, that’s for sure.” Leigh knows that Almidah is sleuth is out into the main body of the ocean and onto Mahr
not planning a large invasion, but it’s clear that the Emor when the vessels near the barge catch fire. Only one or two
expect no real difficulty at their task of conquering the vessels are lost to Almidah. The damage is all the more for
island. the knowing that another is stolen away that night.
Upon the barge’s arrival, some goods are placed off Now the trip across the sea on the return to Mahr is
the barge and upon the dock for the showing of the best most distressing with clouds passing through the night sky.
intentions. Leigh then settles the barge for the night with The sea is a bit rough and the wind is strong. All hands are
the intent of finishing the deliveries the next day. As soon new at the making along the open sea. Navigating is far
as the stars are bright in the sky, Leigh, Fergus and Brogan from simple. Leigh stays at the helm, marking the stars
make their way along the dock. There are no guards for the explained at a stone’s circle. Brogan is a natural sailor and
sea about the entire coast. she is a grand advisor to Leigh this night.
The trio has their pick of the lot. Indeed there is some Just at the darkest hour of the night, some points of
debate as to which empty vessel would best serve their light shine out from of the horizon.
needs.” Speed is what we are wanting for our purpose.” “It’s Cliath for sure. The lights are gathered just as
Leigh ignores convenience and worth, for they need a they should be for seeing the port.” Fergus is right. They
sturdy ship for their journey home. made straight to the lights and came upon the island well
“If she’s fast and easy to handle that’s the one for us,” before the start of the day.
commands Leigh.
Brogan is quick to loose a sleuth from it’s mooring
at the dock and she bounds aboard. “She’s not low to the
waterline. The small craft will give little outline for those
who might pursue us to follow.” Her choice is agreeable.
“Brogan darling, you’ve been nothing but right yet,
so I’m with you again.” Leigh is more than pleasing in his
words. He has come to rely on the wisdom of the young
girl.
“You’re a natural born invader, you are.”
Brogan is full of herself at the grand words Leigh has
for speaking to her.
“Too bad that bunch of shaft makers weren’t present
for the hearing of yourself.” Brogan is a bit troubled by the
coming together of Leigh and Anta, even if she does agree
to the sense of it.
The vessel makes out to sea quietly, unnoticed by any
ashore. They sail past their old barge. Fergus drops off
 Chapter VII
Ceileann suil an né ná feiceann.
The eye shuns what it does not see.

“Now Cavan, the invasion of the mainland by Leigh and his

crew was a very important happening. Your uncle made it seem
as if the sneak attack was as simple as making mud pie. If he had
 172 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
taken a hundred men with him across the sea, it’s likely he might
have taken Almidah herself prisoner and won the war right off!
All my children behaved courageously. I’m quite proud.
No telling for sure, Cavan. Sometimes it’s the small troubles
that we never plan for that rule the day. No matter what might
one has for or against oneself, there’s always some greater might
to be found.”
“Now Mame, if Maeve rules the island of Mahr, what
greater might be there?”
“There’s the might of the ocean itself. Sure there’s been
talk of other islands upon this very sea that have at times ago
broke all into flames and sunk entirely under huge waves that
washed across all it’s shores at once.
There’s the sky, which can keep back the rain forever so no
living thing may stand. Or the great whirling winds can descend
from the clouds that pull trees from out the ground. Oh, my,
Cavan, don’t be wishing to see the power of the gods that will
top Maeve herself for there’s no one man exempt from such.”
“Tell me of the Great War by way of invasion by the Emor,
Mame!” Asks Cavan.
“Yes, I wish to see all as well.” Adds Ree.
“It’s a grand story and it shows that fighting by war should
not be the first choice in the way strangers may deal with one
another. Yet it is the love between a man and a woman that
keeps no bounds and will put a stop to war as likely as it starts
one up.”
Maeve stirs the sounds of the woods and fields. Soft gentle
breezes carry a musical hum across the water to the place where
the moon goddess’ refection serves to show. To Maeve, the time
of the troubles with the Emor was a great concern for the well
being of her descendants and the whole of her island retreat.
#
It all starts at the time of a covert visit to Mahr by
Almidah’s son, Paolo. During the ventures of Uncle Leigh’s
visit to Emor, Almidah has made plans of her own. She
secretly sends a small convoy to Mahr. Her son Paolo is
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 173
charged to seize the source of the island’s gold before the
invasion. Almidah will entrust only her own kind in tasking
where gold is to be found.
Paolo is aware of Locherbith and devises a plan for the
most efficient maneuvers for conquest. There is uneasiness
about the Mahr. The animals are skittish, the wee people
are agitated, especially Hugh Mhor. The whole of human
kind on the island is disturbed.
Hugh’s comrades note the site of a long ship that
has quietly passed to the opposite side of the island port
of Cliath. He is beside himself with uneasiness. Hugh
is always cheerful and gay, however he cannot dispel his
tension and urgency after the wee people have spotted an
unfamiliar looking band of warriors departing a ship east
of Cliath. I’ve never seen Hugh in such a stir.
“There’s a chill in me bone. No good will come by
this.” Says Hugh.
At this time, Paolo and a small army approach
the forest. They plan to hide until nightfall. They will
reconnoiter Mahr’s resources, especially lake Locherbith,
where gold is to be found. They are also interested in
preparing the design of the final campaign for the island’s
conquest. Eta, accompanied by her three cohorts, who
travel with her in the form of foxes, stumbles across Paolo’s
troops as they enter the enchanted forest.
Paolo’s troops of men, numbering 50, are at the
western edge of the magic forest opposite the main port
Cliath. Here they set up camp. Eta hears the news of these
strangers from the sounds of the forest. She comes to their
camp to see the nature of these warriors. Her attention is
immediately drawn to one man with dark hair, penetrating
blue eyes and broad shoulders. For a moment, she can’t
take her eyes from him. She moves closer to obtain a better
view and to hear his words. Eta stops as close as possible
without being discovered.
Quigley, a fairy with a lilac colored hair that stands
straight up in a big mess, looks as if he has been struck
 174 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
by lightning on several occasions! “He is someone of
importance,” Quig whispers to Eta as the three fairies
change back into their sprightly form and move to satisfy
their immortal curiosity.
Eta wants to know all that is going to happen. The
dark haired one is to have the answers. She wonders how
to isolate him away from his warriors. She watches the man
and instinctively knows that she must act. She turns her
head only to find that Quig and the others have abandoned
her. At a loss for knowing what else to do, she returns to her
cave cursing her fairy friends under her breath.
Quigley, has noticed Eta’s stare that is hung on the
handsome stranger. He has gathered up his companion
fairies, Monty and Mab, to capture the man for her as a gift.
They make a plan to wait for Paolo to go off by himself.
“He’ll have need of privacy for himself sometime,”
Monty states.
“How much longer do we have to wait Quig? It’s been
forever and I’m going to eat my hat if I don’t get something
in my stomach soon,” Mab says as he rubs his tiny round
belly.
“Look,” Quiggly tugs on Mab’s pointed ear. “He’s going
behind that tree over there.”
The fairies mount to the treetop above the lone figure
of Paolo.
“Let’s get him,” Monty whispers excitedly.
“Wait till he’s motionless,” Mab insists, “We don’t
need any unnecessary messes.”
“Okay, now!”
And then, whooosh!!!!
“Ooohhh!” Paolo moans in surprise. But before he can
say another word he is bound, blindfolded and gagged by
fairy magic.
In her darkened cave, Eta trips over a silent shadow
upon the ground. She calls out to her friends and lights
a candle. The shadow is the dark haired stranger whom
she sought earlier. For a minute she suspects the man to
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 175
be dead. He stirs at her footsteps. Her companions, three
wild foxes smell him with mild interest while wagging their
tails gently. She attempts to sit him up, but he shakes her
off.
“I am not going to hurt you!”
He relaxes a little at the sound of woman’s voice.
“I’m going to remove the ties from your mouth and
eyes.”
He steadies. “Who are you?” He asks immediately
after she removes the gag.
“I am Eta, daughter of the woods.”
“Who told you of our coming?” He demands.
“What brings you here?” Eta takes no orders from
mankind.
“That is my business woman.” Paolo retorts.
“If you try to escape, you shall never find a way out
of these enchanted woods. As it grows dark, I can not
guarantee the safety of your men.”
“What have you done with them?” Paolo asks angrily.
“I have done nothing,” She matches the tone of his
voice. “You best tell me who and why you are here!”
“Have you ever heard of Queen Almidah from the land
of Emor, and soon to be ruler of this island? I would advise
you not to interfere with her plans.”
“I’ve heard she is a woman with little care for others
as she destroys homes and starves women and children for
her gain. You shall answer my questions else my friends will
rip you to shreds for dinner,” Eta removes his blindfold.
He squints first at the snarling hounds, which are
eyeing him. He looks at Eta once his eyes are adjusted. He
finds her silhouette slender, with hair hanging down her
back. She gestures for the canines to back away and they
do. His vision clears. He glances into her face and sees
her features clearly. His face turns as red as a ripe autumn
apple! He turns away quickly.
“Will you untie me,” he asks.
“Sure, right after I go jump off a cliff into jagged rocky
waters.”
 176 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
“I must finish what I’ve come to do.”
“You won’t be finishing anything, anytime soon. So,
you just better tell me why you’re here.
He sighs impatiently and answers, “All lesser countries
are to become part of the greater whole. Their resources
are there for the taking, if only one will just reach out and
take them. Our country is extremely rich and powerful.
There is no reason we should not help ourselves.”
“You are heartless and stupid if you believe that, and
it seems to me that you repeat that little ditty enough to
believe it. Who do your people think they are anyway? That
is cruel and heartless to let others starve while you eat off
the work of another’s land.”
“You don’t understand. You’re just some forest nymph.
What do you know of ruling a kingdom? Why are you
hiding away out here in a cave like some kind of animal?”
“You’re one of those people who just runs off at the
mouth. You drone on like a fly buzzing about with not any
thought of your own. Who has brainwashed you? Do you
have a heart, or is there a big black hole where it should
be?”
Paolo is speechless. His eyes wonder around the
room of the cave. The dogs are off in the corner, curled up
together. Eta towers above with a hard stare down at him.
Her lips pursed in anger. She awaits an answer. He avoids
her stare and notices all around him. There are animal
skins on the floor and the bed. A fire pit rests toward the
front for cooking. He feels her continued stare. There is
little else other than her in the cave. His eyes fix upon her
now without turning away. She continues her fixed stare.
His eyes, blue, seem to move like water.
# find their way back to their ship.
“What happened next, Maman,” Cavan asks eagerly,
hitting his fist against his other hand, “Did she strike this
enemy dead?”
“She cannot harm this man surely?” Ree responds.
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 177
“Well, Cavan, not exactly. Here, look into the water.
Muira’s hand gently skims over the surface of the lake and
images reappear.
#
It is morning. Quigley and his band search out for
the rest of Paolo’s troops. His warriors are nowhere to be
found. even the ship is gone. Hugh Mhor appears to Eta
and tells what has been done to the intruders. He demands
to see the captured prince to find out what is to happen
next. Paolo refuses to speak further as he has already made
his intentions known to Eta.
“We must prepare,” Hugh says. “As for your comrades,
long have the wee people lived in harmony with the good
people of this land. They were soon to take to panic after
the young prince’s disappearance. They searched the area
trying their best not to be discovered. So the wee people
took it upon themselves to rid the island of these invaders.
“It’s an old trick the wee folks of the forest use on any
stranger that comes to disturb their homes. Every fairy
will amuse them selves this way from time to time. It is
known as the looking glass trick.”
“I think I remember it!” Monty interrupts, “it’s when
you hold up a reflective shiny object to someone and it
makes one face appear all wiggly.”
Quigley and Mab give Monty a look that would melt
ice, for no one interrupts the king. Hugh clears his throat
and begins again after eyeing Monty with a disapproving
look.
“As I was saying, we used a mirror of the past to
confuse the soldiers. They could not get out of the forest.
We sent them in circles to the point where they could only
#
“Maman, what exactly is this mirror trick?” Cavan asks.
“It is the wee people’s way of confusing someone by
 178 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
making the surroundings look like the way they just came. It is
an illusion. They would use it to trick hunters so that the animal
being hunted could escape. Never have they done it on as many
for so long at one time. The soldiers were reluctant to return to
Emor without their prince. They feared him lost forever.”
“The soldiers were lucky they left before the banshee got
after them!” Adds Ree.
#
Back at Eta’s, Paolo is becoming quite fond of her
attention. Quigley with his wily magical ways tricks Paolo
into revealing the true nature of his feelings for Eta.
“She is touched by a beauty as pure as nature. She
is unlike any woman I have ever come to know,” Paolo
admits. He is accustomed to women who have the most
beautiful adornment, who wear elaborate hairstyle and
whom possess great wealth. He is intrigued by Eta who is
just plain of nature.
“Her face lacks any line of evil. Her beauty is of
goodness and tenderness of heart. Her spirit is of nature
and shines upon her face as directly as a pale moon in the
night sky.” Paolo muses.
The goddess of love, it seems in times of war makes
special plans.
As it happens, Eta comes back to the cave one
afternoon upset. A pregnant doe is trapped in a nearby
ravine and the poor animal cannot be saved quickly. Eta
fears of it’s death by the banshee.
Paolo speaks, “I will help. I will go with you.”
Without thinking, she kneels down to Paolo and
puts her head on his shoulder. It is then that he slips his
hands from around him and put his arms around her in an
embrace. He has loosed his bonds unbeknownst to Eta.
He has chosen to remain of his own will! He does not run
nor wish to harm her. She leads him to the ravine and he
gathers some vines.
“Eta, I will slip down the steep bank to the doe and
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 179
tie this vine around her underside. You must then pull as
I push the deer up the embankment.” Paolo gently frees
the doe from the briars and ties the young muther about
her shoulders. Together the two pull and shove the young
creature to safety.
He stays with her for some time, finding himself a true
man of nature. He has never been happier. He tells Eta that
he is promised to marry a princess, but he wishes to refuse
his mothers arrangement and marry Eta. The following
morning he leaves while Eta yet sleeps. Upon her wrist he
placed his royal bracelet. He whispers in her ear that the
bracelet was a special gift from his grandfather, which has
been blessed to protect its wearer from harm. He kisses
her softly upon her lips and promises his return.
#
“What a dear man!” Ree has tears in her eyes.
“What of the Emor’s invasion?” Asks Cavan.
“By the time of Leigh’s return voyage back to Chead, the
start of preparations has long been a reality. The Chead village
itself is deserted. The people of the Chead have closed the port
so no ship may enter. There are no goods stored upon the docks
or anywhere about the place. The Chead have decided to leave
no one or any place for the Emorians to meet. The same was
true of all the buildings and parts of Holy Grove save the large
stones. The Druids have placed a mighty curse against any hand
that touches the stones of the great circle. Indeed, the Druid
themselves may not move these stones after they are first set
to rest.
Aye, I went to our small stone circle many a night, after
Maeve revealed trouble was on the way. I inspected the night
sky and the stars for help. I went to the Holy Grove and
consulted with the elder Druid, but preparing for the army
of the Emor was no simple task. For our land of Mahr, there
seemed to be no answers on how to deal with the oncoming
trouble. The Chead were in an uproar, being that the Druid
perhaps might fail them.
 180 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
As the official communicators with the realm of the spirit
world, we had to answer the problem of an oncoming war with a
powerful foreigner. My children came up with a plan to help. It
was a simple one, but a plan none the less.”
#
Now all the remaining ships in Cliath are loaded with
the last goods for sailing around the island to the west.
Leigh sends word of the size and nature of the Emorian
force to be coming for battle. He is expecting the Emorian’s
invasion to be delayed only a week or so.
The last bit of work by the retreating Chead, is the
fowling of the watering places as they move west. Every
well, lake, stream is to be polluted with the remains of dead
animals. The carcasses of dead sheep and goats and pigs
are thrown into the waters to be used by the Emorians to
quench their thirst.
As the last group of Chead makes off towards Oiche’s
retreat in the west, all objects of man are destroyed or
hidden safely away. Not a bucket or nail is to be found until
one reaches Oiche’s front door at the fort, in the far west
of the island. The future course of action upon the island is
left in the hands of a few. In the west, Oiche and his fort are
the only defense. In the east, the Giollabhain gather in the
ring fort at the eastern falls. And in the enchanted forest,
Eta takes charge.
Leigh and Anta’s band march straight off to the
enchanted forest. They head to the land of the Giollabhain.
There, Leigh hopes to add to its defense.
Now Leigh has for many a year been passing through
the enchanted forest much in the way as the wee folk.
There are paths to be followed that are not to be seen by
the eye of a man. There are the trails most used by the
fairies and spirits of the woods. For sure many of the soft
creatures that live there are up to the same way of thinking.
The wild ways of Leigh are ever so grand as when he is in
his own back yard. His has come alive in ways not common
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 181
to man, but proper for nature herself. Leigh leads the band
of raiders into the forest. It is not long into the woods that
Anta speaks.
“There are no woods like this in Estara! The trees and
shrubs seem to know we are here. The birds follow us as
to keep watch.” She had never seen anyone move through
woods, as does Leigh. He seems to be transformed in such
a way as to become part of his surroundings. He notices
the direction of the winds, listens to the sounds of the
leaves rustling in the trees and his blue eyes pierce through
the woods as if he can look beyond their immediate
surroundings.
“How do you know the way here leads onto anywhere?”
Anta is confused and lost. She is of the northern forest
and no trail appears to her as they walk behind Leigh. No
view lies ahead and nor is there a way to pass back to the
beginning.
“The eye shuns what it does not see,” says Leigh.
“What exactly do you mean?”
“There are two woods here, Anta. There are those of
the creatures and trees and then there are those things
to be felt by one’s spirit. This land is dense in both. The
spirits are abound but they share with any who know their
way.” The woods of her home must lack the magic of Mahr,
reasons Leigh.
As it happens, the time is too short for finishing their
travel through the magic woods by day. The band must
seek shelter for the night. Leigh will rest at the cave of Eta.
There shall be little room left when all have entered. Eta is
a grand one for sharing and passing out her hospitality.
The women who wear the strange hides of soft
creatures on their backs send all the fairies of the woods
to excitement. The tall, blond women are the likes never
to be seen in the enchanted woods till now. That’s not to
mention the response of the other creatures of the woods
to such. Now the commotion of the entire forest has taken
the attention of all the fairies and animals alike. Quiggly,
 182 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
Monty and Mab see beside themselves with the joy of the
fresh sport these new blond beauties shall provide.
Just before the setting of the sun, not far from the
Banshee’s mountain, Eta’s three spirit friends are plotting
their first escapade. They go to circling Leigh’s band
as howling wolves. The northern girls have had many
encounters with the wolf pack back home. They were
quick to bring their arrow shafts to ready. Anta’s face goes
somber with the fairies first howls.
“There could be 20 or 30 of the beasts,” she says to her
girls.
“We must make a shelter at once!” She gives her first
royal command to Leigh.
“Not to worry. We shall be safe in a cave before an hour
passes.” Leigh is sure of his place in the woods and their
nearness to Eta.
“These beasts will be here soon and tear into us any
moment. We must not delay!”
Suddenly the sound of a young girl’s laughter fills
a nearby treetop. Anta and her warriors look about in
confusion. With all this, Quiggly, Monty and Mab, are all
the more delighted and intensify their acoustic feats in the
nearby woods.
Anta and her girls form a protective circle about Leigh.
Each share a gleam in the eye that says she is willing to fight
till death in order to spare him the wolf ’s ferocious bite.
Eta views the scene from above with such rapture that her
sides ache from her laughter. His follower’s willingness to
spare him touches Leigh. His smile gives joyful expression
that is lost to Anta’s anguish.
“There will be no wolverine attack. There are no
wolves permitted in these woods since the wee folk came
to live here long ago. They are a natural enemy to the wolf
when they were mortal folk and they drove all the wolves
off when they took on the magic of the fairy.” Leigh is
anxious to calm the girls who are now just as hysterical as
young piglets at a first feeding.
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 183
“We are in grave danger and you are talking of fairy
folk!” Anta says in disbelief.
Eta, seeing Leigh’s concern calls out, “Enough! The
play is over, for the ladies here are taking no part in the joy
of it. Sorry I am that the joke is not much to your liking.”
With that said, Eta leaps down from her tree before
the blond haired ones that circle about Leigh. Anta’s
expression is converted entirely to bewilderment at the
site of Eta, for never has the like ever before her. Anta sees
the same look of the wilderness in Eta’s eye that she finds
to be seen in Leigh’s.
“Is everyone half man and half spirit on this island?”
Anta asks. The northern girls look over at Eta then turn to
Leigh and back to Eta again.
“Only a few who are alive and mortal may pass through
these woods as they please. It is good of Muira’s son to
accompany you,” Eta speaks as she gazes up at the taller
Anta. The noble spirit of Anta touches Eta and she is most
curious about this royal stranger.
“You may be one of the few.” Eta is immediately
fond of the northern princess. Anta is just as awed by the
presence of Eta.
“Are there any more like you two about? I don’t have
enough royalty to be giving it away to all the heroes on this
island.” Anta’s grand smile warms Eta’s heart. The two are
quick to give a hug to one another and make themselves
good friends before another step was taken.
That night all in Eta’s cave have a roaring good time.
Tales of the northern lands during more prosperous
and pleasant times are told. With every one of the girls
providing tears for a sad state of the world since Almidah’s
rise in power. The three spirits are quiet and listen
intensely to the talk. Eta is elated for the arrival of Anta
and the blond warriors and share in the tears for the lost of
their families, friends and homeland.
Eta offers the girls to remain with her in the enchanted
forest, and then they shall all go to Oiche’s fort when the
 184 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
time comes. Anta feels more at ease in the forest, which
reminds of her homeland. More so, she doesn’t want to
be away from Leigh. Her warriors are determined to fight
against Almidah along side the Chead.
“I shall remain with Leigh,” Anta speaks as her and
Leigh’s eyes meet as if in agreement.
In the morning, Leigh and his future wife leave for
Giollabhain. All the other golden haired women stay
with Eta. By this time the Gillobhain have withdrawn all
their people and animals to their fort at the sea. Some
five hundred Gillobhain are waiting at the edge of the
enchanted forest to engage the Emorians as they emerge
and before they can form an attack. Here Leigh and Anta
chose to fight.
#
“The people of Cliath have long abandoned their homes.
With their goods and animals, they have made their way west.
Many are to stay close to Oiche’s fort there in the west. Oiche’s
work of that winter to build large circular abutments, with
shelters for the people of Cliath had been done.
All Chead were setting up about Fort Oiche where
provisions were kept. Hugh Mhor and his fairy band, it seemed,
had made their own plans”
“Time has run out!” Cavan realizes.
“The muthers must be completely done in from worry by
now.” Ree says.
#
The enemy army approaches. Prince Lunn of the
Emorian fleet inspects his ships.
“After noon we reach the island of Mahr. You men are to
make history as the first invasion by sea of the Emor. Queen
Almidah watches us. We shall be rewarded most handsomely
for our victory.” The troops cheer him onward.
“Good sir, the invasion starts late! We must have quick
victory or chance the army being stranded without proper
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 185
supplies.” The general is emphatic about the risks of an
army fighting a long way off from its supply base.
“General, our troops have never known defeat. The
island people are barbarians that shall run and hide from
us. No! The conflict shall be brusque if any at all. Our
troops must secure the island, and collect the gold. We will
bring ship loads of the stuff back to our queen in a month’s
time.” Lunn answers.
In early afternoon they sail in straight into the bay
at Cliath. The Emorian’s main thrust of the invasion is
a total force of five thousand men. The invading flotilla
numbers about 50 wooden hull ships cramped with men,
and with few supplies. Near Cliath the leading 10 ships are
latched together forming a floating dock from which the
remaining ships will onboard. The first numbers of the
Emor to land form an advancing line into Claith. Here they
find no Chead but only charred remains of buildings, and
abandoned land. The few provisions must remain afloat
until suitable facilities are constructed.
There is much confusion amongst these invaders as
they are not accustomed to building but destroying. There
is loss of direction among their military commanders as to
where to attack as nothing is left standing to be occupied.
Large parties of Emor must be put to work gathering
material, scouting and securing. Expanding defensive
perimeters must be made quickly secure. Much time is
consumed by the command in regrouping. This is the
first island to be invaded. The flow of needed resources
to sustain their campaign has never before been an
impediment to their military campaigns.
In haste to prove himself to his evil queen, Lunn
splits his force. Some 1500 soldiers are to follow after
him into the land of the Giollabhain. Here he hopes for
a quick conquest and to muster supplies for the western
campaign against the Chead. He desires to immediately
send treasure to Almidah. The act of splitting the army
before engaging the enemy is unwise but necessary due to
 186 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
the inadequate conditions of supply. The main body of the
Emor will spend its time in domestic efforts awaiting the
return of the Prince Lunn.
#
“Oiche had made special plans for the Emor who occupy
Cliath. He had sent word to the cold country of the north
where the large bears roam. His wives’ people had at the ready
a large raiding party of some dozen vessels, and 500 warriors.
They were prepared to sail to Cliath at Oiche’s command to
raid the Emor.
By guile the flotilla of the Emor was to be attacked and
burnt by the dragon ships. The invaders would then be cut
off from their homeland. They must then advance toward
the defensive positions of the Chead driven by despair, and
hardship. The enemy forces would gradually weaken and the
more desperate they would become for supplies. Disease
among the Emor should mount due to the contaminated water.
So Oiche’s plans for the island’s defense had been put into
action.”
“Most cunning!” Cavan agrees with his uncle’s design.
#
The north ships advance towards Mahr just as the
expedition of the Emor follows Lunn. Now these sea
raiders are both soldier and sailor. Their grandest wish in
life is to die in armed combat at sea, for the rewards they
then earn in the next life are beyond measure. Second is
to die in fight with foot upon the land. Least in reward of
death is to die of an old age. So when the northern raiders
reached the bay at Cliath they are intent on bringing out
the enemy onto their ships and to fight afloat.
The north men are heavy with drink, and loud with
songs cursing the likes of the Emor, and baiting for a grand
fight at sea. Now the Emor have never encountered these
fierce northern raiders, and mistake the ships approaching
as way of fighting by the weaker Chead themselves. The
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 187
Emor are quick to launch half their ships and some 1500
men to engage the rough noisy bunch just outside the
harbor.
The Emor are fine warriors, but wholly lacking at
using the helm of a ship at sea for ordinary warfare, let
alone maneuvering against practiced sea pirates. The
huge bulks of manhood from the north are skilled at using
their dragon shaped ships against larger vessels. The north
men sail directly into the fleet of the Emor. Skillfully they
maneuver their smaller faster vessels around about and
run head onto the sides of the ships of the Emor.
The greater strength of the hulls of the north ships
gives cause to splinter the wood holding the sides of the
ships of the Emor. Once pierced by the dragon ship, the
weaker vessel fills with water, and the crew is lost. Some
north men’s ships sail up on top of the Emor’s vessel with
the north men climbing out to flail the smaller Emor. One
by one the Emor’s vessels succumb. They were helpless to
escape the tactics of the wild men from the north.
The Emor’s naval attack fails. Many an Emor escapes
death at the hands of the north man only to drown at sea.
One out of three ships of the Emor return to dock in
Cliath. The ships of the north men are swiftly after them
with volleys of arrows of fire. The dragon ships sweep past
the docked fleet of the Emor putting fires aboard many
of the Emor vessels. The Emor mount an effective land
based response of matching arrow and flame. So stiff is
the defense of the Emor that many north men fall to the
shaft, and half the northern fleet retreat aglow with fire
aboard. The damage by the north men is severe, yet Lunn
is determined to recover and succeed on this mission. The
loss of soldier at sea was many, but he had plenty more at
hand.
The Chead have depleted the sources of drinking water.
The enemy stretches it’s troop concentrations about what
water is to be found. Their military efficiency is reduced.
Existing supplies may not be centrally massed and are
 188 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
accessible to enemy’s troops. The overall communication
network of the invaders fails. The divide and conqueror
scenario began to work as soon as the first enemy ship has
reached the shore of the island.
Inadequately supplied troops dispersed too far from
supplies, and reserve troops isolated from their central
command become vulnerable. The prognosis for the
invaders as the conflict drags toward the dark time of the
year worsens.
# With calls from one side to the other, the three pests bark
“The invading Emor underestimated the cunningness of
the defenders. Many vessels of the Emor were lost in the one
devastating encounter with the north men. The loss of supplies
compelled the commanders of the Emor to move the troops to
engage the Chead at once. The main force of the Emor began
to depart Cliath and moved west against the main army of the
Chead. The Emor were humbled but their pride yet made them
a formidable foe.” Tells Muira.
“What of the wee people and Hugh?” Asks Cavan.
“Now the wee folk were actually the first to confront the
Emor at the very instant the invasion began. Hugh had his fairy
band spread thick green algae about the large waters used for
drinking around Cliath. This stuff was sure to make any mortal
man or animal sick as can be from the drinking of it. Many of
the wild plants able for growing about the invaders were full
of a disagreeable odor to man but to liking of flies and bugs of
all sorts. Many the bits were made on the Emor by the pests
attracted to the stinkweeds about the camps of the Emor.
Hugh’s wee folk removed anything not capable of making the
Emor miserable.”
“Maeve herself showed her displeasure by making that
warm season as dry as a desert and all the more so where the
Emor slept. The spirits in the enchanted woods began at once
to hide the pathways for traveling by mortal folk long before
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 189
the first of Lunn’s soldiers would step there. The trees and
bushes bent so as to keep the sunlight off the floor of the magic
woods. The forest was made dark, quiet and empty before
Lunn’s arrival.”
“What of Eta?” Ree wishes to see more of this warrior
spirit.
#
Eta sends her golden warriors deep into the woods
to lay ambush upon the Emor upon their march. Eta’s
three fairies mimic the voices of the Emor commanders.
instructions about Lunn’s advancing column.
Small sections of Emor follow blinding into the
waiting arrows of Anta’s warriors. Eta assists the retreat
of the girls to a different part of the forest where another
trap is to be set. Over and over the 1500 Emor of Lunn’s are
either partitioned to be destroyed or bound by the fairies
to await captivity.
The wee folk and other fairies of the woods permit
Lunn and the remainder of his force to find only paths of
briar and sharp rock upon which to march. Their effort
through the forest is made to wind without reason or gain
by Eta’s instruction. Only upon the time when the Emor
are ready to quit from fatigue are they permitted to pass
out of the forest. Here await the Giollabhain under Leigh’s
command.
The out numbered Giollabhain fight with zeal and
strength that overwhelms the worn and confused army of
Lunn. Anta, armed with bow and arrow, leads the charge
from the flank and unleashes her fury on the unprepared
Emor. Leigh pushes through the center and all organized
resistance from the Emor collapses. Lunn is wounded by
Anta’s arrow and his men surrender. Nearly 1000 Emor are
taken to the ring fort as captives.
#
 190 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
“The main force of the Emor fell upon Oiche in the west,
where we lost many of our own.” Muira bows her head in respect
to those who gave their lives.
“There is no enchanted wood out there to be helping.”
Comments Ree.
“Uncle Oiche has his magic spear!” Reminds Cavan.
# She says. Soweta bends down and kisses Oiche’s forehead,
“The main army of the Emor moves with determination.
They have much experience at land conquest. Many men
are dying at Oiche’s fort this day from the Emor’s attack.
The battle is ferocious in the way of the Emor. Many Chead
fall bravely.
The day is hot. The sun god places much fire above the
earth to build the Emor’s thirst. The women help to care for
the men who are injured, Chead or Emorian. Uncle Oiche
himself is in the whole of the battle. His spear he carries to
the part of the battle where the danger is greatest. Uncle
Oiche has a terrible gash in his shoulder. He weakens from
the length of time he has carried this wound. As long as
Oiche fights in the field, the battle is a draw. Through
the day and into the night way after way of the Emor are
repelled.
Back at the fort, Hugh Mohr appears and he hands
Oiche the golden gourd that holds the banshee’s mist.
“Only the one who captured the mist can release it,”
says he.
Oiche is aghast.
“You mean to have the banshee, herself called into this
battle?”
“All mortals here are in grave danger. None here are
accustomed to such a grand warning. The Emorians have
much resource to this fighting. Your wound will not let you
stay in the field. By morning all here will be dead.” Answers
Hugh solemnly.
A small, dark woman comes to Oiche’s side. Soweta
carries a crock of water. She recognizes the gourd in Oiche’s
hand. Hugh is completely caught off guard!
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 191
“The banshee must be called upon the field in the
midst of the Emor.” Oiche says.
“It will be very dangerous for you but only you can save
us now.”
Soweta takes the gourd.
“It is time. The spirits have called me to this moment,”
as he now lays weak from blood loss.
“I have loved you from the first sight. Never have I
seen another as courageous as you.”
The night is dreary. Fires about the rampart glow as
the Chead hold their place. Gusts of wind flailed about and
a light rain drizzles. Alone Soweta quietly moves toward
the encampment of the Emor. Her breath is slow and deep
as her hand holds the gourd upon her head.
The gourd shines above the black maiden. Out through
the field, among the dead she passes. Slowly she advances
to the line of the Emor. Sentries call out the alarm and
many men gather in order before her path.
The black Druid, wife of Oiche walks erect and stately.
Her beauty and the gold that sits upon her head give no
threat to the Emorian soldiers. They part to let her pass
as if she comes with gift giving. As Soweta walks into the
camp’s mist she trembles. The gourd is lowered and carried
in both hands. Gently she sets it upon the ground and
loosens the lid of the gourd. She is prepared to die.
The Banshee’s mist rises about the enemy’s camp.
There comes an awful howl. Soweta freezes. The Emorian
soldiers are struck with bewilderment. A ghastly noise
mingles with the hissing of the wind. The wild snarls of the
banshee are coming up from behind her!
The men in the camp just stand as they listen to the
Banshee’s eerie call. They forget about Soweta and take
to running in various opposite directions as the Banshee
appears. It happens as crack of lightning. Soweta cannot
move at all. She stands at her ground with her eyes closed
and her hands covering her ears.
 192 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN

“Don’t look back!” Hugh whispers urgently in her ear

and then, “Hurry! Follow me.”
They make haste throughout the mass of the Emor
trying to escaping the horrible apparition of the Banshee
angry at being called from her home. Hugh’s little legs run
ahead. Soweta follows behind as tears stream down her face
hearing the shouts of death behind her. They make it to the
safety of Oiche’s fort as the Emor fly to escape or die as the
banshee unleashes her attack. They abandon weapons and
purpose. In the morning all the Emor that survived on the
island are captive, included in this party are the generals
under Prince Lunn’s command.”

“Gentleness and grace decided the war.” Remarks Ree.

“What of Paolo?”
“How was peace guaranteed?” Cavan asks.
“Paolo, as next in line to Almidah’s throne, made a deal
with his muther it seems. He would do as she wished and marry
the southern princess and he would bring Lunn home safely if
she would in turn leave Mahr alone. Phelan also told her that
there was not enough gold in Locherbith to justify another loss
of men and resources. Lunn and the remaining Emor soldiers
were returned under a treaty of peace.
As for Eta, she received a letter from Paolo. In this letter
he proclaimed his love and longing for her and if fate should
have it, they would be reunited. Yet unbeknownst to him, she
was with child.”
 Epilogue

At the time honoring my grandmuther’s birth, her grandchildren

prepared for a celebration. Muira did not walk about much these
days, so the clan gathered at her cottage at Locherbith. Bunches
of flowers were set all about her home. Songs were sung and small
children would be forever dancing to Muira’s delight. Laughter
and good banter would break only for serious gossip.
 196 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN
Before the feast, it was my grandmuther’s wish to take a
handful of her muther’s favorite flowers, and place them on
the ancestral bough to be found just up the hill from her home.
Here in an earthen mound rested the remains of her ancestors.
The spirits of her loving muther and very dear father dwelled in
this place.
I assisted her in the short walk to the family grave. I
towered over her fragile frame as we made our way. At the
bough’s edge, a small girl child handed my grandmuther a
bouquet of violets. Muira sank to her knees, placed the offering
upon her muther’s own grave. Suddenly, her eyes welled up
with tears, which streamed down her cheeks and fell heavy to
the ground. She laid her hand upon the bough as she wept. She
murmured, “Mame, dade, soon I’ll be with you.” Her shortness
of breath would not let further words come forth.
I stood by her side and my emotions got the better of me as
I watched my grandmuther. Try as I might, my throat tightened
but failed to hold back my tears. I was at once embarrassed,
filled with pity and love for his this small woman. In a moment
of overpowering warmth, I bent over and reached with my
hands to clasp her shoulders and gently held her.
“Soon it will be time for me to go to the netherworld.
Cavan, take me back.”
In a few cycles of the sun, Muira would forever not wake
from her bed. The bough would solemnly be opened once again,
and her spirit would be perpetually joined to my grandfather
Egan, in the netherworld.
As I helped to place Muira’s remains in the grave, I could
still feel her tiny hand in mine as she lies on her bed. I recalled
that the love and warmth of her spirit had never failed. Up
above, birds flew through the sunlit sky like spirits sailing to
another realm saying their good-byes.
After the passing of some time, I came to assume Muira’s
place as a Druid among the Giollabhain. I had moved into her
cottage on Lake Locherbith.
One evening, in the first warm season since Muira left this
present life, I was planting atop Muira’s cairn some of the violet
DRUID OF LOCHERBITH 197
roses still to bloom in her garden. These were similar roses to
those by which her husband Egan had won permission for their
marriage from Muira’s father.
I take special care of these flowering beds of roses that
bloom in Muira’s garden.
The shadows of the day were long and soon to blend with
the night. I was just returning along from Muira’s old path to
the cottage when a small bird circled above my head and landed
at my feet, where the small figure of a man stood just off to the
side of the path.
“Muira’s friend is yet Hugh Mhor. To Cavan will Hugh
Mhor be friend to now. This is the last wish of my lost child.”
I beheld the tiny bit of a man and his wrinkled aged face
and white beard.
“Are you the Hugh Mhor, of the wee people,” I asked.
“At the last hour of Muira’s time in this life did Hugh Mhor
come. To you she bid me to be a friend. To many of the wee folk
of Mahr is Hugh Mhor lord. The help of the wee folk, Cavan,
shall have if friend to the wee folk you will be!
“Look south bound on the lake lad and you will see
something of great importance to your future,” said he and he
gazed in that direction.
I followed his gaze that landed on a swan that was
swimming toward the shore. The swan swam in the direction
of an outstretched hand of a fair young maid. Her hair was dark
and she dressed in a simple beige frock. She called out to the
swan to feed him some bread.
“That be Kira, daughter of Eta, descendant of Maeve. She
has learned the ways of the woodland creatures,” said Hugh.
I watched with interest as she fed the swan that comfortably
ate out of her hand. Soon Kira turned and disappeared into the
wood. I looked back at my new friend then removed the torc of
gold Muira had given to me upon my thirteenth year.
“To Hugh this piece of gold, a gift Muira received from
Locherbith, I give to friend of Muira as I shall always be.”
Hugh Mhor had never been so presented and a crystalline
tear from his fairy eye fell to the ground as Cavan handed him
 198 MAGGIE KELLEY AND J.P. RONAN

Muira’s golden torc. It is said a spring of water is sure to be

found where a fairy’s tear lands upon the ground. Here along
this very spot aside of Muira’s path is home to a small spring
that flows this very way.
THE END