by Dyrk Ashton
There would be no dragging of Noah’s Ark to the sea, so they hiked to the shoreline, where Fintán aided in the building of smaller sailing ships. Several dozen habilis who’d helped Noah complete the original arks and boarded Noah’s with him, worked on them as well. But when it was time to set sail, the habilis decided to stay. No plea could convince them otherwise. Many animals were loaded onto the ships, but others were left behind.
Fintán provided coordinates for their journey, though he did not travel with them. Instead, he set out to locate and similarly aid the surviving passengers of Noah’s other arks.
* * *
When Noah and his family finally arrived upriver from the mouth of the Euphrates, at the northern tip of what is now called the Persian Gulf within the borders of modern-day Iraq, they found that the Sumerian city of Ur—glittering, sun-kissed center of Mesopotamian trade and commerce—was gone, and what was once a fertile valley nearby that Noah’s clan had called home for centuries was poisoned by saltwater. Dismayed but determined, they continued north to the lower regions of Anatolia. Noah again took up husbandry, shepherded and multiplied his flocks, replanted his vineyards from the precious vines he’d stowed aboard his ark. There he lived another three hundred and fifty years in relative peace and happiness (except for bouts of sloppy drunkenness and the occasional row with his sons), until his death at the ripe old age, for a human, of nine hundred and fifty.
* * *
Noah was of the line of humans called the Antediluvian Patriarchs, also known as the Babylonian Kings of antiquity, direct descendants of a preeminent Firstborn son (though none of them truly knew his name), hence their long lives and prominence in pre-Flood history. After the Flood, Noah’s legend grew greater than any of the others before him, and he came to be celebrated variously and by many cultures as Atrahasis, Utnapishtim, Deucalion, Tumbainot, Nama, Nu’u, and Noe, among other great names of distinction.
* * *
Sad and alone, even after all the good he’d done and many lives he’d saved, Fintán returned to Fiodh-Inis. Myrddin greeted him with a blend of gladness and grief. The body of Cessair had been found.
Myrddin showed Fintán to where she’d been lain on a plush sheepskin atop a slab in a circle of shining stone. She was less broken and swollen than one might imagine, and the Druids had preserved her body with fragrant oils and piled colorful scented blooms around her. That evening they interred Cessair in a sepulcher excavated by the habilis from a rocky hillside, made smooth and glistening within by Myrddin’s wielding of his gambanteinn. Myrddin gave a moving benediction. Cessair’s cousin Banba, whose leg was nearly healed, spoke eloquently and wept. Fintán said naught. Upon completion of the ceremony, he retreated to a high cold mountain with only his heartache and woe.
* * *
Some of the myths of ancient Éire differ in their accounts of the Deluge. Some say only Fintán survived. Some say he was only a boy. Others a grown man, but a shapeshifter. More claim a woman named Banba also survived. There is no mention of Myrddin Wyllt, by any name. He shows up in later fables of Ireland, however, as well as the rest of the British Isles, under that name and others.
At the time of Cessair’s funeral, the troubles in Fiodh-Inis were far from over. The isle suffered a string of settlements and invasions, terrible wars, natural disasters and not-so-natural plagues. Eventually the descendants of the great human warrior Míl Espáine, also known as Milesius, won the isle with the united clans of Gael and help from a handful of Firstborn, including Myrddin Wyllt, who was known to them as Amergin.
Following the liberation of Fiodh-Inis and its settlement by the Milesians, Myrddin retired to his Weal in the mountains. He continued to travel, to check in on his habilis enclaves around the world, repair his circles of stone, and had many more adventures. He was always drawn back to these lands, however, and found himself spending more and more time on the largest of the isles. There he endeavored to ease the suffering of the people during hard times, and intercede with the invasive Romans on their behalf. Eventually he converted to Christianity, and found a new friend, a young Brythonic prince named Uther Pendragon.
* * *
There came a time when all the Druids were gone, dead or bred into immigrating populations. As for the habilis, there are stories of them from around the globe, since they lived in many places, but some still inhabit isolated forests and fens of Ireland. The elders guard treasures left them by Myrddin Wyllt. When there are rainbows after a storm, the young ones come out to dance and celebrate their forefathers’ heroic deeds during the Great Flood.
* * *
Fintán saw it all. Every invasion, each battle, everything in between, and all that came after. Alone. Unseen. He said nothing. Did nothing. It is not known how he felt about it, if he felt anything at all.
Few Firstborn have ever referred to Fintán mac Bóchra by that name, which is known so well in Éire. Like all of his kind, he had many names, most from before his time with Cessair, and many translated since. Malakbel, Anzu, Haru, Nekheny, Heru-ur, Heru-pa-khered, and, though inappropriately, Kemwer, are some. Pariacaca, The Victorious Warrior Nefer Hor, a.k.a Nephoros or Nopheros; Harpocrates, Haroeris, Hor Merti, and Horkhenti Irti are others. There is Periya Thiruvadi, Suparṇa, Galone, Galura, Karura, Khangarid, Yue Fei, Penju, and Great Peng, as well as The Elder, Hunter, God of the Kingdom, Protector of Lower Egypt, The Distant One, Old Bird, the Archangel Uriel, Naga’s Bane, and Garuda, Lord of the Sky. And still, these are but a sampling.
To Father and the Firstborn, he will always be Horus, also known as The Falcon, for that is the name he was given at the time of his hatching, almost two million years ago.
Over the history of Éire, since his self-imposed exile from the concerns of the world, he gradually gained the fabled epithets of White Ancient and the Witness, the legendary observer of the unfolding history of Ireland (and indeed all the British Isles). Or, as Myrddin Wyllt came to address him, and not without some good-natured derision, The White Watcher.
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Paternus: Rise of Gods (The Paternus Trilogy Book 1), can be found on Amazon in print and eBook formats, as well as in audiobook format on Audible and iTunes.
Paternus: Wrath of Gods (Book 2) is available on Amazon in print and eBook formats. The audiobook will be available no later than Sept. 12, 2018 on Audible and iTunes.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Photograph by Lee Fearnside
Dyrk Ashton is a Midwestern boy who spent some time in Hollywood. He teaches film, geeks out on movies and books, and writes about regular folks and their trouble with monsters.
WHAT IS PATERNUS?
Ashton’s debut has been called Urban Fantasy, Contemporary Epic Fantasy and Dark Fantasy, as well as Mythic Fiction and New Weird Fiction, but on one thing readers agree, “Paternus stands out from the crowd” (Bookworm Blues). Josiah Bancroft, acclaimed author of Senlin Ascends, says, “There’s just something wondrous and wide-eyed about Ashton’s flouting of convention and genre ... The result is almost giddy.” “I think part of its charm,” claims fantasy reviewer Tom Owens, “is that it doesn’t really care about being pigeon-holed.” Author Steven Kelliher says Paternus is “one of the most singularly inventive, creative and exciting works of fiction I have had the pleasure of reading.” According to blogger Phil Charles R, Paternus has “some of the brilliance of Gaiman’s American Gods, detail of Tolkien’s Silmarillion, and plenty of identity all its own.”
Join the conversation and see if you agree:
“A wild rom
p through every religion, myth and culture, uniting them all in some sort of late night Urban Fantasy pan-dimensional smackdown ... Paternus brings it on.” -Pornokitsch
“American Gods meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer in the best possible way!” -Jonathan French
“Storytelling at it's best. A must read if you love myths, legends, lore and excitement.” -Fairy Tale Access
“Cinematic on a grand scale ... A surprisingly phenomenal debut.” -David Walters (on MightyThorsJRS)
“So gripping that I couldn’t stop reading ... Dyrk is the king of action. His fight sequences reminded me of movie frames ... I loved it.” -The Bohemian Mind at Work
“Terrifying characters and true heroes, sacrifice, defeat and victory. And the pace never lets up.” -G. R. Matthews
“American Gods without the whimsy and more psycho scary things.” -Charles Phipps
“Engaging. Compelling. Evocative. I urge you to read it.” Peter Tr, Booknest.eu
“Exciting and excellently written.” -Fantasy Literature
“A wonderful book, forged in the deepest recesses of the human imagination.” -Michael Easton
“A great big mythological smoothie of awesome!” -Kristen Reads Too Much
“I love the sheer level of detail that went into crafting the mythos.” -Bibliotropic
“The action is fluid, visceral, and the suspense is cranked up again and again ... I can’t recommend this book highly enough.” -House Valerius
“A fast read, action packed.” -SFBookReview
“Paternus is fantastic ... Perfectly timed and very well written.” -Burkhead’s Books and Bad Reviews
“Thrilling to the end ... Ashton is an amazing story-teller.” -AudioBookReviewer
“A story for the ages ... I really loved this book.” -Kaladin Stark's SFF Reviews
“Ashton is one of the best authors out there ... If there's one book you must read this month it's Paternus.” -DarkMondays
“Perhaps the craziest story I’ve ever read, and I mean that in a good way ... A wondrously creative and well-realized story that turns the world’s mythology on its head ... I’m officially a fan.” -Shawn King
“Myth and legend manifesting itself, for real, in modern day ... A smashing debut.” -J. P. Ashman
“This book became real good, real fast, all the way through to the end. I am eagerly awaiting the next!” -Travis Peck
“I had a big smile on my face ... The pacing is frenetic with barely a moment’s breath from once the action begins till you put the book down at the end.” -Fantasy According to Tom
“Paternus is a rollicking ride of epic proportions.” -T. L. Greylock
“A fast-paced book with a twisting plot and fantastic suspense! Great for anyone into mythology. An excellent adventure!” -M. L. Spencer
“Brilliantly written ... I recommend Paternus whole-heartedly.” -Daniel Potter
“Amazing stuff here for those who love fantasy and mythology ... Brilliant.” -Sara Dobie Bauer
“Truly imaginative... The descriptions are rich, the characters are fun, and the villains are vile ... Beautifully done!” -Joleene Naylor
“A world-building marvel.” -A. Dale Triplett
“Ashton weaves together mythology, evolution, geology, and alternate universes, while still writing characters easy to relate to. I was sucked in from the start ... eagerly looking for the next one, and anything else Ashton writes!” -William C. Tracy
“A truly epic work.” -David E. Miller
“I’m staggered that it’s Dyrk Ashton’s debut novel ... Some of the brilliance of Gaiman’s American Gods, the detail of Tolkien’s Silmarillion, and plenty of identity all its own.” -Phil Charles R
“Absolutely thrilling! ... I could not put this book down.” -Charles McGarry
“High action, fascinating mythology and world, and surprises on every page ... Lots of bloody awesome ... the likes of which you haven't read before.” -D. Thourson Palmer