Waves in the Wind
Page 36
“Morrigan, I understand your bitterness, but I would never endanger our son.”
“Go then. You may find my words bitter, but you know I speak the truth. Have you forgotten your friends Goban and Torcán? It is because of you they pledged to sail with Brendan. Would you abandon them? Or would they choose to remain here and die at your side?”
Once more destiny’s forces gathered ’round to form an inescapable trap. Yes, I was obligated to my friends as well. I could remain in Eire and die for no good purpose, or fulfill my vow to sail with Brendan, never to see my own son.
Knowing she was right, frustration welled within me upon realizing I had already lost my son. “In truth, I really never had a choice, did I?”
“No. I’m afraid not.”
“Very well, I shall go.” I stood, looking down at her. “However, in so doing I shall feel that my son is dead to me, and I dead to him before he is even born.”
“No, my love. It is merely your sadness at this moment that makes you say such things. Wherever you go, I know you will think of our son often, wonder about him, hold hope in your heart for him. And Cáerthann shall grow to know and love you through me for I will tell him of his father, the wise and courageous Druid who earned the everlasting respect of his gods.”
“You honor me, My Queen. Here, take this.” I removed the serpent ring from my finger and handed it to her. “Tell our son it belonged to me, and my father before me and his father before him. It’s a small inheritance, but give it to him when you see he has earned the right to wear it.”
Tears misted her eyes as she took the ring, and nodded.
“I leave it to you to tell Cáerthann of his heritage. Let him learn the knowledge of the old ones and the mysteries of the Druids. At last, permit him to be his own man as he strides forward into Eire’s future.”
“You have my promise to do as you say. True. He must become his own man, but beneath the Lordly One’s guidance and protection, of course, as will befit his position.”
Was it the Lordly Ones’ protection she intended, or the guardian wing of a doting mother? I knew her well, and chortled. My son must grow strong and wise if he hoped to stand free from the Morrigan.
She rose to stand before me and laid her hands on my shoulders. “Sail, my beloved, and may destiny’s winds carry you towards a mighty future. Never look back, do not rue what you lost here, for the past is the victim of time. Always remember. Cáerthann shall serve as your legacy to this land. Your son will bring honor to your name. I am sure of it.”
“Ah, Morrigan, at the point of death it will be your name on my lips.”
She cupped my face in her hands. “And it will be your name I speak, my love, when we meet on the shore of Tír na nÓg.”
* * *
My solitary prayers completed, swift steps carried me atop a large stone where I stood, my feet widespread, Nuada’s Staff planted against the level surface. My scarlet master’s robe billowed in the wind; the coiled serpent, emblazoned with heavy gold thread, glinting in the dawning sun.
On the beach below, Goban and Torcán stood to one side as villagers bustled about loading the last of the provisions. The curraugh’s two white sails displaying their red Christian crosses stood stark against the rolling sea’s blue horizon. Brendan was there along with his monks. One by one all stopped what they were doing to stare up to me.
Brendan’s mouth was moving, his words borne away by the wind, but his waving hand urged me to join them. The time had come to sail, and with it, the fulfillment of the Morrigan’s prophecy. Never again would I set foot on my homeland. Ah, but what mattered that?
Trusting in the wisdom of my gods to determine my fate, I stepped down from the stone on light feet, striding towards the beach. Though my face remained calm, my heart glowed.
There would be a son.
I would be remembered.