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Iver's Tale (Night Cries, pages 91-92) "Come now, and listen to the tale of Fionnlaoich," he began. He let out a long, low burp and handed his drinking horn to one of the men standing nearby. "Fionnlaoich came to Alba when Iad sin A Thig bho Neo-ni still ruled this land. He came in pursuit of the men who had stolen his wife, Avril, and taken her in their boat of fire to this place. "For three years, he wandered about these hills, searching - always searching - for his love, but the warriors who took her knew that he followed them. They kept her just out of his reach; they let him see her in the distance, but they never let him come close enough to take her back." Dominic leaned against a gnarled pine tree and ignored the scent of pitch that pervaded his nostrils. He could see Rhiannon from here. She seemed to shimmer in the mixture of moon and firelight, the odd star that he had noticed on his way here floating above her head like a halo. He returned his attention to the herdsman's story. "Fionnlaoich followed the men into a forest, and found that they had built a tower, and it was in the tower that they kept Avril. He watched them, and waited. He knew that if he watched long enough, he would soon find his opportunity to steal her back. "But the men were vigilant; they never let Avril from their gaze. Fionnlaoich despaired, for he could not live a life without his beloved Avril." Iver's voice dropped low. "One night, as he kept his ceaseless vigil, an image came to him without form or face. It spoke to him and told him that he could take his wife from the men if he would only wait seven more days. "Fionnlaoich did not believe, and asked the spectre what would happen in the sennight that would allow him to take Avril back. The answer was this: when the sun and the moon are one, then will the spell be broken. He would see the men as they really were. "So, seeing that he had no other choice but to do as the spectre told him - he was greatly outnumbered; only himself against a great army - Fionnlaoich waited. For the next six nights, bright streaks of light flashed overhead, and Fionnlaoich took this as a sign that the phantom had been right. He continued to wait. "On the morning of the seventh day, Fionnlaoich awoke to see that the men were not men at all, but tiny Daoine Sithe; wee folk. Realizing that he had been tricked, Fionnlaoich drew his sword and went to the tower. As he got closer, the tower got smaller and smaller, until it was no larger than his sgian dhu. Fionnlaoich grabbed a handful of the wee folk and demanded that they tell him where they had hidden his beloved Avril. Though they tried to tell him, Fionnlaoich did not understand their language. It was then that he heard her voice. Picking up the tiny tower, he held it to his ear, and he heard Avril inside, singing. He called out to her, but his voice was loud, and the booming of it caused the tower to crumble, and Avril fell to her death. "Fionnlaoich wept until his tears began to form rivers - the very rivers that lie just beyond those trees." He gestured to the rivers Dee and Don. "For you see, Fionnlaoich did not realize that he was a giant amongst people like you and I, that the 'wee folk' he saw were really normal-sized humans - as was Avril. "He went onto a plain and lie down, and it was there that Fionnlaoich died of a broken heart. Earth and moss slowly covered him and today he still rests, just over there." |
