Freamhaigh

by Donald D. Allan

  “You’ll be glad to hear we rounded up the last of the Council members that were working with Healy to rob the land. The dungeon is full. It helps to have Will and Nadine here to sort out the bad apples. But all my work over the years determining the web of deception Healy had built has paid off. Too bad Bill Redgrave didn’t get to see justice served. Or my brother.”

  Heather tutted next to them. “Tis a pity. Bit thay hud it comin' tae thaim. We need tae lea while th' tide is heading oot. Tis already low.”

  James grinned down at her. “How were your last nights with your husband?”

  Heather slapped James’ arm and laughed. “None o` yer cheek. ’Twas bonnie. We best be thare 'n' back quickly. I miss him already.”

  Katherine laughed and thumped the dock with her staff. Dog woofed in agreement. “Agreed. Let’s be off.”

  Martin turned to Katherine. “The draoi have adjusted?”

  Katherine raised an eyebrow. “Yes, thank you. We have converted all the draoi over to the Simon mote. Their powers are much the same as before. There will be adjustments.”

  “I heard there has been a split within the draoi.”

  “You have heard correctly. Some did not agree with Will and are angry we destroyed Gaea. They will see reason in time.”

  Martin did not look like he believed her. Brent slapped him on the back. “Enough, be off. Take care of yourself, James. I’ll need you back here soon enough.”

  “I will, Brent,” James stepped forward and hugged a startled Brent. “Stay safe yourself. You have a realm to run. Keep it safe for us, right?”

  Brent nodded. “The chest of gold Will had hidden for us is helping. Plus Martin split the spoils of the Sect with us. The Realm will recover. Safe journey, my friends, come back safe and sound.”

  James, Heather, Katherine and Dog descended the gangplank to the deck of the sailing ship. Martin and Brent helped untie the mooring lines and then remained on the dock watching the sailboat tack out of the harbour until it was out of sight behind the islands.

  * * *

  They arrived at Foula Island three days later. The weather had remained clear, and the ketch had made good on her promised speed. They sailed around the island looking for any feature to guide them. The island was small and offered little in distinguishing features. There were no trees anywhere on the rough land. Instead, the island was covered in a tough grass and thick heathers. Here and there grey granite boulders thrust upwards and birds roosted on the locations. Little could grow on an island constantly being hit by salt spray from the ocean.

  In the end, the captain of the Oriole anchored offshore in a small bay that provided a lee, sheltered from the wind and waves. A rocky beach with shallow breaks could be seen a short distance away. A small dinghy was lowered to the water line and James, Heather, and Katherine climbed down into it. Dog was lowered in a harness along with supplies and they rowed to shore.

  James made quick work with the oars and once they touched shore Katherine and Dog leapt out and grabbed the boat and held it until Heather and James joined them. They dragged the dinghy up and away from the water and waved to the captain. He would remain anchored until they returned. He had been paid handsomely, and he was in no rush to return to Munsten.

  They stood together and looked about. Up close the island looked no different from offshore. They could make out the gannets, fulmars and kittiwakes circling overhead. Petrels and other strange birds swam nearby and seemed curious about what they were doing. James turned to Heather. “Do you sense anything?”

  “Na. Th' Simon motes hae nae reached this far yit.”

  “Okay, keep an eye out people. Don’t wander off.”

  Heather rolled her eyes and Katherine laughed. Heather leaned in to whisper in a voice loud enough for James to hear. “Th' poor wee Jimmy. Two pure tough wummin 'n' yit he feels th' need tae assert some kind o' authority.”

  Dog woofed in laughter.

  James glared at them with the hint of a smile. “I’m in charge. The Lord Protector said so. I’m the only military person here. And you Dog, you’re a male, too, so be careful.”

  Katherine laughed and Dog bolted and ran along the shore chasing and barking at birds. Katherine pulled out a small bag of crushed Life Salt and poured it onto the ground. She closed her eyes and in a moment the Life Salt scattered and disappeared into the air. She brushed her hands off and looked about. “It will take weeks to spread out over the island. But at least this is one less place to worry about.”

  The draoi had been seeding the Simon motes across Belkin. It would be years before the work was done, and that was shortened only because the motes replicated themselves. Thankfully, the draoi were already getting back in touch with the life of Belkin. It was only taking time.

  Over the next couple of hours, they walked around the shoreline of the island. They found nothing except for driftwood, cracked open mussel and crab shells, and the occasional lost fishing float. Dog had found a new joy in life uncovering hedgehogs, rabbits and a strange mouse creature on the island. Nothing else lived here.

  James kicked a glass fishing float, and it arced out over the water and landed with a splash. “This is the place Gaea called her own? She’s welcome to it.” He looked out over the island and gazed toward the centre. “We may as well head inward. It will be tough going.” He beckoned ahead of him. “Ladies, after you.”

  Heather punched James in the arm as she walked past him. “Mind yer cheek.”

  In an hour they managed to fight their way through the heather and trudged through stiff grasses that rose to their waists. They headed to an outcrop of large granite boulders in the middle of the island. Dog ran up ahead, bouncing in and out of the tall grass, and disappeared behind the boulders. He then started barking. James looked at Heather and Katherine, knowing Dog was talking to them.

  Heather spoke first. “Dug haes found something. An entrance o' some kind."

  They hurried as best they could through the tough heathers and grass until they stood beside Dog. Before them, they faced the unnaturally smooth surface of a boulder. It was a good ten feet across and tilted back a bit. It looked like someone had taken a knife to the boulder and carved away a third of it. Etched into the smooth surface was a large symbol of the draoi that spanned at least four feet across. Central to the symbol they could see the unmistakable shape of a sickle carved into the stone. The entire symbol was slightly off colour from the granite as if made from something different. James thought it looked a little green and said so.

  Heather moved forward and scratched it a little. “Tis lik' plant 'n' rock mixed th'gither.”

  Katherine took the end of her staff in hand and closed her eyes. In moments the dagger end melted and reformed into the sickle shape it once was. Katherine looked at the others and then extended her staff and placed the sickle head into the outline. A light burned brightly from the sickle and then flared and ran rapidly around the draoi symbol. Katherine removed her staff, and they watched as the light flared and then disappeared. The stone symbol crumbled before their eyes revealing a dark opening leading underground. Stone stairs could be seen at the edge.

  Heather looked at Katherine for a moment. “I’ve juist hud a thought. That’s th' Cill Darae sickle, isn’t it?”

  Katherine nodded.

  “That’s pure Gaea, isn’t it?”

  Katherine nodded, but then turned and smiled at Heather. “It sure is. Should we head inside?”

  End of Volume Four

  Look for the next volume in the New Druids series coming in 2019.

  Cill Darae: A New Druids Novel (Volume Five)

  By Donald D. Allan

  Acknowledgements

  This novel completes the Will Arbor storyline I have been trying to tell for the past four years. Will Arbor represents everyone who ever felt out of their depth but persevered despite the odds. This series started as a what if question: what if druids were all gone, and one person came into power? Then I imagined an ending. And everyth
ing else fell in place. I hope you enjoyed reading about Will through his eyes. Sadly, I’m moving on from Will. For now.

  This is the New Druids series. Keyword: series. Hence, there will be more novels coming. I’m not quite done with Belkin, the new draoi, and the Church of the New Order. There is so much more to explore, and many more interesting characters and I hope you follow along with me. I’ll keep writing. Please keep reading. The next novel will follow Katherine, James, Heather, and Dog for a little while. And Nadine. It should be fun.

  I’ve wanted Dog to talk ever since he walked into my novels. Which is pretty much how it happened. I didn’t see him coming and then there he was. I love talking dogs, in case you didn’t know. I’m not alone: Kevin Hearne and Dean Koontz wrote some excellent novels with talking dogs. I feel there should be more novels with talking dogs and I mean to help with that.

  I would like to acknowledge the positive impact on my writing effort as a result of joining the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) organisation (https://nanowrimo.org). I signed up during the initial writing of Freamhaigh and pushed out 50,000 words (all of Part One, actually) in November 2017. I'm not a pantser, which means someone who writes from the seat of their pants. I’m a plotter, which mean I outline my novels (I use Scrapple from Literature and Latte) and then stick to it as much as possible. NaNoWriMo gave me the pressure any true procrastinator needs to produce product. I met with the ladies of the Ottawa NaNoWriMo Chapter where I learned more about female superheroes than I ever knew before. Thanks, ladies. You gave me a focused environment when normally I would be home eating Zesty Cheese Doritos (Canada only, don’tcha know) and watching Netflix.

  I have managed to build a modest reader base for the New Druid series. Being an independent author has its challenges, foremost is getting the word out about your novels, generating reviews, and then crossing your fingers for sales. Part of the marketing effort has allowed me to identify readers who wanted to be Beta Readers for this series. I put out a call and people answered from all around the world. They have assisted me greatly in making sure the novel you just read met the expectations of readers like you. Their constructive feedback and attention to my story details was humbling. Thanks to you all. Here are the members of my Beta Team (names published with permission):

  Steve Bligh

  Sue DeNicola

  Martin C. Jordan

  Eylene Kissane

  Steve Makgill

  Dorkas Michaelis-Iske

  R.T. Sailor

  Lana Turner

  Tanya Wheeler

  You guys were wonderful! Thanks so very much. Any errors that remain are, of course, my own.

  It’s time to go walk Woody. I wish he could speak to me… except it would probably be all "treats, treats, treats!".

  Ciao!

  Don

  Ottawa, Canada, May 2018

  World Details

  Ranks and Hierarchies

  Draoi (Druid) Ranks:

  Freamhaigh (Root) – Head Druid

  Cill Dara(e) – Druid Priest/Priestess (The Elevated Druid)

  Stoc (Trunk) or informally just Draoi – Full Druid

  Craobh (Branch) – Journeyman Druid

  Duilleog (Leaf) – Apprentice Druid

  The Church of the New Order Ranks:

  King (in abeyance since Revolution)

  Archbishop (acting head of the Church)

  Bishop

  Dean

  Vicar

  Army of the Realm Ranks:

  Officers:

  Knight General (former rank from before the Revolution)

  General

  Brigadier

  Colonel

  Lieutenant Colonel

  Major

  Captain

  Lieutenant

  Second Lieutenant

  Enlisted:

  Warrant Officer

  Staff Sergeant

  Sergeant

  Corporal

  Lance Corporal (appointment, not a rank)

  Private

  Recruit

  Lord Protector’s Guard Ranks:

  The highest-ranking officer is General. Because the Lord Protector’s Guard is a speciality occupation, the members come from the Army of the Realm, and occasionally from the Navy of the Realm. They share the same rank structure except that the lowest officer rank is Captain and the lowest enlisted rank is Corporal; those being the earliest rank you can be selected or request service in the Lord Protector’s Guard.

  Navy of the Realm Ranks:

  Officers:

  Fleet Admiral

  Admiral

  Commodore

  Captain (Navy)

  Commander

  Lieutenant-Commander

  Lieutenant (Navy)

  Ensign

  Midshipman

  Enlisted:

  Chief Petty Officer

  Petty Officer

  Master Seaman

  Leading Seaman

  Able Seaman

  Ordinary Seaman

  It should be noted that the General of the Realm is the head of the Army, the Navy, and the Lord Protector’s Guard. The Lord Protector’s Guard recruits from the Army of the Realm, and rarely, from the Navy. The Navy’s top rank, the Fleet Admiral, is not equal to the General. In this world, the Navy is not the senior service.

  Calendar and Seasons

  The calendar is in the background of the world and not specifically referenced except where it occurs accidentally. We don’t dwell on the calendar and neither do the folks in Turgany. In this world, the Celtic names for things have slipped and are rarely used. The common language is English.

  Seasons:

  Winter (Geimhreadh) – December, January, February (Nollaig, Eanair, Feabhra)

  Spring (Earrach) – March, April, May (Marta, Aibrean, Bealtaine)

  Summer (Samhraidh) – June, July, August (Meitheamh, Luil, Lunasa)

  Autumn (Fomhar) – September, October, November (Mean Fomhair, Deirreadh Fomhair, Samhain)

  Time Frames:

  Day – dia

  Night – nocht

  Week – 8 days and nights—deug

  Fortnight – 15 days and nights – cola-deug

  Month – mios

  Days of the Week:

  Sunday – Domhnaich

  Monday—Luain

  Tuesday—Mairt

  Wednesday—Ciadain

  Pluday (Extra)—Durdaoin

  Thursday—Ardaoin

  Friday—Aoine

  Saturday—Sathurna

  Breakdown of a Year:

  365 days in a calendar year for which only 360 are provided actual dates. The extra five days per year (see Solstices/Equinoxes) are used as celebration days and are known by their title rather than as a calendar date. It works like this: there is a December 24th, followed by Christmas Day, which is then followed by December 25th.

  24 fortnights (24x15 days) per year

  45 weeks per year

  3 weeks and 6 days per month (totalling 30 days per month)

  Solstices (longest/shortest day of the year)/Equinoxes:

  Vernal Equinox is the day after March 19th (or Marta 19) and is celebrated for 1 day as Ostara Day (non-calendar day).

  Estival Solstice (summer) is the day after June 20th (or Meitheamh 20) and is celebrated for 1 day as Litha Day (non-calendar day)

  Autumnal Equinox is the day after September 21st (or Mean Fomhair 21) and is celebrated for 2 days as First Mabon Day (harvest) and Last Mabon Day (feast) (non-calendar days).

  Hibernal Solstice (winter) is the day after December 20 (or Nollaig 20) and is celebrated for 1 day as Yule (non-calendar day).

  Holidays:

  Samhain. Nov 7 (Samhain 7). The midpoint between Autumn Equinox and Winter Solstice. Celebrates the last harvest, the cycle of life and gifts for passing spirits. Preparation to survive winter, confront the possibility of death. Colours: black, brown, reds, oranges. Opposite to Bealtaine.

  Yule is the day after December 20 (Nol
laig 20) and is a non-calendar day. Shortest day and longest night of the year. Celebrates the end of darkness, the return of light to the earth. Herbs are at their least potent. Colours: green, red, white, silver, gold.

  Imbolc. Feb 1 (Feabhra 1). The midpoint between Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox. Celebrates the quickening of spring, the end of winter, time of planning and hopes. Colours: red, orange, white.

  Ostara Day is the day after March 19 (Marta 19) and is a non-calendar day. The first day of spring, the night and day stand equal. Celebrates the birth of spring, rebirth. Time of planting. Colours: red and yellow.

  Bealtaine. May 6 (Bealtaine 6). The midpoint between Spring Equinox and Summer Solstice. Time of rebirth. Colours: blue, pink, yellow, green. Opposite to Samhain.

  Litha Day is the day after June 20 (Meitheamh 20) and is a non-calendar day. Summer solstice, the first day of summer, longest day of the year. Celebrates the light and the sun without there would be no life. Time of strengths and accomplishments. Gather herbs as “herb night” is when they are at their most potent. Colours: blue, yellow, green.

  Lammas. Aug 1 (Lunasa 1). The midpoint between Summer Solstice and the Autumn Equinox. First harvest festival. Celebrates the beginning of harvest season, the decline of summer to winter. Time to dismiss regrets, farewells, preparation for winter. Ceremonies involve bread, grains and corn dolls. Colours: oranges, greens, browns.

  Mabon Days are the two days after September 21st (Mean Fomhair 21) and they are non-calendar days. Referred to as First Mabon and Last Mabon. Autumn Equinox, the first day of autumn. Celebrates harvest. First Mabon is harvesting time and Last Mabon is the feast. Time for thanks and learning, repairing all things. Colours: dark reds, yellows, browns.