Sorceress

Chapter 36:

We stop for camp a days journey from the Ailleacht Fields. As we arrive to the place where we will camp, I notice a solitary stable in the middle of a clearing, with enough horses so that everyone in the tribe can have a mount. I see no stable hand, no house, nothing to explain this. As Call's tribe begin taking horses from the stable, I stand perplexed. "There is a wanderer, a Deorai, in these parts, some say he is one of the Tuatha De Dannan. Ever since the war a thousand years ago, whenever the beacon is lit, and all the tribes gather at the Ailleacht Fields, this Deorai has left horses here for us to use." A woman explains to me, "Some say that Elif met him once, when he was outlawed from his old tribe," I turn to the woman, confused,

"He came from a different tribe?"

"Yes, Elif's wife, Domar, was half elvish, she grew up in the faerie realm." Shock is evident on my face as this new information takes me by surprise, "She met Elif thirty years ago, when he was thrown off his horse, and nearly died. However, she was walking through the forests at that time, and saw him, and saved him. Her mother and father were furious, and forbade her from seeing Elif again, but they secretly married. Domar's parents told Elif's tribe, the Tonn tribe, that if they did not outlaw Elif, then a curse would be put on their village. When Elif and Domar were outlawed, legend is that they stayed with the Deorai for three years. They were then taken into this tribe, and when one of the chiefs of this tribe died fifteen years ago, with no children, wife, or family to succeed him, the faerie king apparently met with the Deorai, and they decided to visit the village dressed as simple paupers to proclaim Elif the next chief." The woman smiles at me, "I was there, I remember the day very clearly."

"But then Call must have elvish blood in him?" I ask,

"Yes he does, just a little bit more than a sorcerer or sorceress, but enough to mean that he was summoned to the faerie king two years ago."

"Really?" I speculate that on the fact that the South has such a connection with magical creatures that the North did not have.

"Domar's mother was with the king for a short period of time, and produced with him a girl. The girl is now dead. But King Fionn wanted to see Call to teach him how to use the extra magic that was given to him. Call spent what he felt was five weeks in the faerie mound, but in reality was a day. He did not return straight away, he visited the Deorai first, and now he has visited the Deorai every six months since." The woman brings me a beautiful chestnut stallion, "This is Glaleanna, and my name is Codi," Codi smiles and mounts her own horse, a dark brown mare. I follow suit, mounting, and picking the reins up, as I glance behind me, I see Call talking to a cloaked figure in the shadowy edge of the clearing. The hooded figure, the Deorai, turns and notices me, and a pale hand emerges from the cloak and beckons me over. I turn my stallion around, and trot over to the Deorai. Glaleanna draws up next to Call's stallion, and I dismount, standing next to him. Call grasps my hand, and I smile at him,

"Aine, faerie sorceress," the Deorai's voice sounds like rustling leaves on the forest floor, as an Winter wind brushes through them. I respectfully bow my head,

"Deorai, of the Tuatha De Dannan," He chuckles,

"You know a lot, don't you?"

"More than I would like to, in some cases," I reply,

"Aine," the Deorai's voice becomes more urgent, "I have only seen glimpses of your future, and the future of the South, but," the Deorai grasps my hand, "The Southern Celts will need you and Call before the battle is over."