Beyond - Legends Legends of the Force, Book 2: "Cauldron-born", 26 Chapters (OCs)

Draíocht has a lot to unburden herself of: with the history of atrocious acts and changes and her role in them.

 

Oops, guess that wasn't a correct estimate. I feel like perhaps she could have kept it at 'worked in a kitchen', LOL. I suppose there aren't all that many castles, and less where a pregnant girl ran away at the start of winter. I feel Sionnach is perhaps a tad inexperienced in the ways of the world, even though she has great intuition, in general. She's of course still very young, isn't she? Oh well, a mother of four is probably not so dangerous, right, especially since she's not living in a village where she can gossip away with others?

Oh, eh, oops again? Nice bit of world-building, I think, and interesting how seeminly dispassionate she manages to explain that. Reads like there's quite a story behind her being 'on probation'. And again, you can't always tell what someone is capable of, in a situation of peril or threat/duress.

Yeah, delicate killer fingers, so to tickle you within an inch of death with finesse; saves on the cleaning up too! I bet she's good at cutting too, no wonder she recognized Sionnach's skill

 

A great world you are building with the Elves and Sionnach experiencing all

 

@WarmNyota_SweetAyesha: There is more to come about those acts. You will see.

@DarthUncle: I seem to write very compelling characters. At times so frustrating that SWpants left as my editor ages ago and turned her head towards other things.

@earlybird-obi-wan: And especially for you I want to write on. So hang on in there! I believe in you!


And here we go again AFTER my holidays with my mom of course. This is why I almost forgot about Sionnach, because my mind was so busy with Cassie, Orson, Alex, M. and Vader.

I hope @Darth_Furio can forgive me!

And I also hope that @CaraJinn is not too annoyed with me playing around with Scandinavian midwinter traditions. But during my study years in Hildesheim, were @Cem_Fel also was around, I helped foreign students. The Scandinavian were always fun to hang out with at a Christmas market.


Chapter 5:

I am given another mug of ale while Draíocht begins revealing more of her past to me.

“Once our race had arrived on this planet, our bodies began to change from the inside out. The stardust in our blood mixed with the local Midi-chlorians. There was no cure against it. Some respected and accepted the change, others denied and fought it.”

She empties her mug in one clean go. Like a true Udaler of the North. I am amazed.

“Then there is Mórag MagUidhir, of course,” Draíocht moves on grimly. “Among the Order of the beanmna feasa she successfully rose to the Holy Office itself, despite her mixed blood. With her at the helm, an entire nation went to its knees. She wanted to bring law and order back into our lives by all means.”

It has never occurred to me before that the goals of the god queens have so much in common with that of Mórag: Law, order and purity. At all costs.

“The Holy Inquisition was born and the nature of the order changed for good, but not for the better. Torture was used for confessions mainly, but also as punishment or simple as revenge.”

In the meantime Draíocht has started peeling potatoes again, her eyes lowered to the task. I can see tears shimmering in the corners of her eyes anyway. Her heart is pure and good despite all the horror she has brought into people's lives in the past.

We remain at the kitchen table in silence until Malm and the boys are back with some river fish.

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In the weeks to follow Draíocht tells me the story of her life bit by bit within the following sun weeks. She always takes care that her children are not around to hear any of it. The past is a dangerous place for them.

Born as the youngest daughter of a lesser nobleman of the seelie court Draìocht was given away at the age of three. Her father had been simply happy not to be obliged to pay a dowry for her. Mórag MagUidhir took girls in for free.

“I became proficient in the arts of the order, using spells, talismans or incantations to focus the power of the Dark Side. I gained my powers through intense study of both the traditions of our race and the one of our enemies: the Ophidiae.”

“Did you ever question your training before Mössa stepped into your life?” I ask her, while we are both feeding the animals in the stables.

“Yes.” Draíocht's face darkens. “It was when I was instructed to... question... a human boy that was still a toddler. He was barely able to speak. I saw no sense in this mission at all.”

“What happened next?”

“The Reverent Mother did it herself. There was not much left of him for his parents to bury when she was finished with him.”

“Why did you not stop her any further?”

Very slowly Draíocht begins to undress in front of me, not caring whether the sheep begin to gnarl on her clothing or not.

What I am forced to witness takes my breath away.

Underneath all the layers of cotton and wool the torso of the Elfin woman is utterly crippled.

“The Reverent Mother heated some iron forceps with her sheer willpower and ordered two other bean feasa to hold me down.”

It is difficult not to stare at the mess that the abbess has created out of sheer malice.

“I was not able to feed my own children, for they had not much to suckle on. Due to the Force and our animal stock they got the milk they needed.”

I hold back my tears with all my might. “How did you meet your husband?”

“Mórag left me behind in a ditch. Mössa, sent to kill us, found me. He got a full view of my severe injuries that were still badly healing at the time. It made him have pity on me.” She gives me a crooked smile. “The rest is local gossip.”

“Gossip,” I echo.

Draíocht shrugs. “This is a small community. A secret spreads in no time, even though our next neighbours live six miles away. This is why I want you to be away when spring comes. For your own good.”

Some of the sheep have come to close. They shriek back when some violet Force lightening crackles over their noses.

My hostess laughs out loud.

Sulking, the three animals retreat from us as far as possible.

Draíocht picks up her clothing with a satisfied grin. “Mössa and I started having a love affair,” she continues. “We ended up in front of the thing assembly. They heard me over the death of the boy. Then a messenger was sent to the Reverend Mother. She was not pleased to be ordered to appear in front of the gathered chieftains, but she came anyway. Contact also had been made to important off-world authorities.”

I am sure that the latter made Mórag MagUidhir swear to keep her fingers off humans and other non-Elfin races in future. Otherwise it could be seen as a declaration of war. Not willing to have a large amount of senate members from the water planet of Amnion against her, she must have given in grudgingly.

“What happened to you?” I ask shyly.

“I was banished to this very spot, relieved from my duties as a bean feasa. But both still watch me, the order and the thing assembly of chieftains. The latter has proved to be more friendly and benevolent over the years. Especially after Mössa had his fatal accident in the woods. We are well cared for and respected members of the community. I am even allowed to work as a midwife, due to my herbal knowledge.”

I decide not to ask her about that accident right now. She will tell me when she is ready for it. Besides, it is a very private and painful matter.

My host is fully dressed again.

“True Force healers are rare specimen, Sionnach.” Her smile is sweet and kind. "It is a pity that you cannot stay here. Imagine all the good that we could do together for the community.”

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Luckily, spring is still very far away. The weather is ghastly most of the times. More than once we hear trees crashing down somewhere in the surrounding forest grounds.

I grow accustomed working indoors with Draíocht and playing with her children.

Hjorton is the youngest, a sturdy baby with red cheeks. The twins Torsk and Rådjur, just seven years old, are wild and full of good mischief. The ten year old Jord is a helpful fellow, regarding himself as the man of the house.

All children adore their uncle Malm, who is the oldest brother of their deceased father. He is in his late forties and unmarried, but he seems to have a lover in the royal household of Dún Barr.

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On the morning of Midwinter Eve, also called yule, I am able to meet the rest of the large family clan. They come like an invading army, but they bring many presents and tons of food with them. We end up with twenty-five grown-ups and eight more children.

I am introduced to everybody as Draíocht´s younger cousin. She manages to keep my name a secret, which is silently accepted by her children. Instead she finds a nickname for me: Falu.

Falu rödfärg is the name of a deep red paint well known for its use on wooden cottages and barns.

We celebrate the Winter Solstice with julbord, which traditionally includes baked ham, pickled herring and a large collection of meatballs. It is served with beer, herbal snaps and glögg.

Glögg is a mulled wine, containing spices such as cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, cloves and bitter orange. Often it is “topped” with some vodka and served with raisins and almonds.

The gifts are placed under an ever-green tree that is nicely ornamented with stars made out of straw and baked cookies.

“The Star Wars will be never forgot in this realm,” Draíocht tells me. “The North was hit the hardest. Here the most ferocious battles took place.”

Over the next three days and nights, there is much singing, eating and dancing around the tree.

It is almost unbearably quiet in the long-house when our guests, including Malm, leave again.

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(To be continued!)

 

Superb and revealing information and Sionnach is welcomed and enfolded in this happy bustling family. I wish she didn't have to leave.

 

nice to see her in this family with the interesting history

 

You're forgiven Azure.

It's downtime with people we enjoy that calms our minds. Calm before the storm perhaps?

 

Yep, well said, both of you! The worldbuilding here is very satisfying, and interesting.

With Sionnach, in a previous version, I was often frustrated that she was so passive, but now I see (or maybe she changed that way too) her being very able to live in the moment, and a good thing, because she seems to have a tough time ahead, but with her warmth and love she is welcome with most people who are good themselves too (or wishing they were And Sionnach seems to float through life, not that she doesn't feel bad things, but her connection to the force manages to somewhat isolate her from despair, anger and fear, really intriguing, especially because it allows her to selflessly apply her healing (oh, hey, that's happening below too), totally pouring herself into that one task; does mean she needs that goodwill from others, and good friends, to guard her during it, if she's to survive perhaps?

Well, @AzureAngel2 was busy, and is now tasked with making lunch while I switch out dialysis fluid; so I get to update for her @WarmNyota_SweetAyesha @earlybird-obi-wan @Kahara & @Darth_Furio - I took the liberty of alerting you to this update, since you have recently commented here. Here goes:

Well, at least that would get rid of the cold!

Hmm, cold snow, feels quite good though, that heat is more like it has been for the past weeks! @AzureAngel2, will comment separately later, after I read it again. Oh, I might have made some small changes here and there, beware.

 

Ack! A deep freeze kind of cold is not good if you're in a blizzard, but crispy cold is nice when you're stuck in the muggies Looking forward to Sio's further adventures off-world.

 

Living in Canada snow is nothing new here. I always say I'd rather deep cold than deep snow for driving purposes of course.

Sio's going to have to get her wits about her.

 

writing about cold weather and snow is quite refreshing during the heat-wave in the Netherlands.

She is going away?

 

@WarmNyota_SweetAyesha, @DarthUncle, @Cowgirl Jedi 1701, @earlybird-obi-wan & @Darth_Furio, I have hesitated with an update, because Sionnach is in for nasty times. Here the first bit:

(Still Chapter 5!)

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The Lidérc vessel is surely not a very elegant matter, but it is the first space ship that I am facing in real life. Holocron pictures look much different.

Awed, I remain standing in front of it, feeling very small and vulnerable.

The space ship almost fills out the entire glade.

It is said that Elves are afraid of steel constructions of any kind – swords, battle armour, even jewellery.

just to prove the common parlance wrong, I already consider to reach out for the sheathing, when I feel it at the back of my head. A strong pull. Or really, more of a Force tug. Somebody is trying to get through to me, but I block each attempt. I swish it away like a naughty fly attacking me.

“Aunt Arcānā!” I mutter.

Not waiting for the arrival of the two spice merchants, I sprint straight into the ship. There will be time to introduce myself to them later.

In blind panic, I press a button that leads to a small room full of cleaning utensils and strange smells. Whatever Lidérc use for cleaning, it is certainly not vinegar.

I surge forward anyway.

It is not very likely that the crown princess of Draconis will be scared when I start to attack her with a broom or a rag, but I have to start somewhere.

The door closes and it is pitch-dark.

I come to realize that there is no way out. That I am trapped inside the little metal chamber.

I force myself to stay calm for I have made a choice and have to go through with it now. There is no way back. Not even a letter of good-bye for Draíocht.

I must trust the Force.

If I do not move too much and keep my breath low, just as Granny taught me, I will have plenty of air until this ship takes off.

I sink down on my heels and lean my brow against a broom. Then I start praying to the Force.

Outside, I can hear some cursing in a language that is not known to me yet.

There is a strange rumble and then my entire hide-out seems to tremble.

Is that the ship's engine?

The next thing that I know is that I am thrown around by immense forces and hit several items.

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(To be continued!)

 

You are superb! at the cliffhangers Azure, and edge of seatness!

 

Well, I hope her trust in the Force is justified; while it seems she more than most can trust the force to bring her where she should go, I can't say it always works without major kinks. Somehow I am not so sure the guys that own this spacecraft are as kind as Draiocht turned out to be. Let's hope they are like Taran, dangerous, but deciding not to be to her. Great suspense and cliffhanger indeed.

 

where is she going? Cliffie

 

@WarmNyota_SweetAyesha & @earlybird-obi-wan, there have been some serious accusations of cliffhangers. Sigh, I plead guilty.

But rejoice! Here is the next update, because I will be busy from tomorrow evening on.

@DarthUncle & I got informed that his younger sister and her three children, who all live in the UK, are coming to see us for a couple of days. And because I am sick at home, a stomach bug made about 90% of the children and some team members ill, I had the chance to consider carefully how to re-write the end of the chapter. I hope this is all to your satisfaction.

@Kahara, @Darth_Furio & @Cowgirl Jedi 1701 might like it to.

If anyone does not wish to be tagged by me should say so via PM. My life is busy and complicated enough. But I do react to reason. Just tell me and I relieve you of being tagged.


(Still Chapter 5)

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When I wake up, two masked Lidérc stand in front of me, wearing crimson-red desert robes. I want to greet them, but I can't. There is something large in my mouth. It tastes funny. A gag?

I want to sit up, but that does not work either. There is a net of bonds cutting deep into my skin. And somehow my left thigh is trapped between two wooden blocks.

Pleading, I look at the spice merchants.

One of them produces a large axe.

Confusion rises in me.

The blade glistens while it cuts through the air.

Knowledge kicks in. I am fully aware that my leg has no chance.

With a quick prayer to the Unifying Force I face my destiny.

Pain explodes in my head.

I keep telling myself that there is no pain, but the Force.

Granny told me once that the options in the face of pain are stark and immediate. Do I choose physical and mental misery? Or do I go for the approach of the Holy Isle? The millennia-old credo of the Ophidiae does not deny physical pain, but concentrates on a sense of space and choice in mental and emotional responses.

In my head I start repeating a song over and over again.

“Snake Woman, shedding her skin
Snake Woman, shedding her skin
Shedding, shedding, shedding her skin
Shedding, shedding, shedding her skin

Bird Woman, taking flight
Bird Woman, taking flight
Taking, taking, taking flight
Taking, taking, taking flight

Star Woman, shining bright
Star Woman, shining bright
Shining, shining, shining bright
Shining, shining, shining bright

Moon Woman, riding the night
Moon Woman, riding the night
Riding, riding, riding the night
Riding, riding, riding the night

Star Woman, opening wide
Star Woman, opening wide
Opening, opening, opening wide
Opening, opening, opening wide

Snake Woman, shedding her skin...”

Soon my body leaves its cage, travelling the stars.

I am a child of the Unifying Force. I am a daughter of the House Tjiehenet, heir to the Ancient Serpent Bloodline. I am a luminous being, not crude matter.

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During the flight to Sapuhru I find out that there are worse things in life than the Holy Inquisition. Or a drunken nobleman.

Jonc and his partner Salopard are the heads of a crime organisation. They steal children and ship them off to other planets to pick pockets. The younger ones are forced to wash space ships or to shoplift. And occasionally, some of the poor souls even get deliberately disfigured. Just to increase their earning potential. Disabled beggars are thought to generate more income.

At least Draíocht´s children got spared. My two captors originally aimed for them. The Force has mercy. My blood sacrifice was accepted.

We fly directly to the space port of Montségur, while the stump that is left of my left leg gets bandaged.

I am smuggled out of the ship with some discreet bribes paid to the custom officer in charge.

“You better earn me the money back that I lost for getting you here,” Jonc hisses in his strongly accented voice.

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I spend my first night on Sapuhru in a shabby warehouse at the edge of the city centre. Twelve very frightened children, dressed in filthy rags, keep me company. Most of them are human, few of them half-Elves. I try to learn all their names in case I will be able to tell functionaries of the law about them one fine day. Each child needs to be saved.

Our caravan of slaves rides out the next morning. Together with two children that are barely three years old, I am bound to an Eopie.

More bribes are paid to get us all out of the city.

The name Ankoù is whispered forth and back though, making our captors nervous.

The journey through the hot sands of Sapuhru is murderous. The sun has no mercy on us.

Two of the children die and their little bodies are left in the dunes.

I cannot understand why we do not travel at night. True desert inhabitants would be more reasonable. There must be a reason why we keep on running away from Montségur.

During a brief brake, I hear Jonc and his partner Salopard mentioning the name Ankoù again. He seems to be a kind of creeper or deadly spirit. A dorocha of some kind. The fear of my captors is palpable.

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With crutches I am forced to walk the streets of Fort du Montage, a small settlement, straight away. Soon I find out that desert nights are not only utterly cold.

My customers do not care about the bad shape that I am in. My advanced pregnancy even increases their greed. They pay little fortunes for a tait-a-tait with me.

Inside my head I stick to the prayers and songs that Granny taught me. I go through Force philosophies one by one, making them enhance me like a shiny amour. It helps me not to go mad, to stay away from the temptations of the dark side.

Three more children fall ill. There is nothing I can do for them. Their aura colours tell me that death is their only salvation.

The crutches are taken away from me and I get a wooden leg that I can buckle up to my left thigh. Walking with it is very difficult. I need to hold on to walls.

After a sun week Jonc has a row with Salopard. The latter ends up with a knife stuck in his throat.

Jonc decides to bring the rest of us back to Montségur. There he hopes for a better paying clientèle and much more swag. His hope for new money sources is greater than his fear of that Ankoù creature.

 

Intense & riveting. Harrowing experiences just show the depth of courage Sio has!

 

And still, she finds a way to see the positives of her situation (and looking back, at what she had). Going into the force seems a very Sionnach way to deal with these events (if she were like that Ankoù guy, she'd learn to blow them all up, probably including the children, thinking 'but I saved us all from that fate' ... forgetting that they death is a very final state, and life, even after events like this, can still become a blessing.)

 

@WarmNyota_SweetAyesha: Your quick reaction time for a beta-edit never fails to impress me.

@DarthUncle: Thanks for explaining to me why this update got no like from you and understanding why it took me so long to write it. I left it out in the original text, but it was there, embedded in the drawers of my mind.

 

I am a child of the Unifying Force. I am a daughter of the House Tjiehenet, heir to the Ancient Serpent Bloodline. I am a luminous being, not crude matter.

Yoda is always relevant.

 

poor Sio in the clutches of villains

 

@Darth_Furio: I am glad that we agree on Yoda´s wisdom here.

@earlybird-obi-wan: This time I wrote those live-changing hours down. In the original version, I did not.

Okay, one update, @DarthUncle, @Kahara and @WarmNyota_SweetAyesha, before I disappear of the radar until next Sunday.

Much to do, little time.



Chapter 6:

When my first customer for the night approaches me, I am already numb with cold and in bad need of fluid. For him it does not matter.

With a sigh, I open all the gates of my consciousness towards the Unifying Force. This Lidérc here can have my body, but not my mind.

I have been in Montségur for almost a week now. The stump that used to be my left leg hurts occasionally. Like every Force healer I am bad at taking good care of me. But I keep the children alive. Jonc starts to get suspicious, but that is the least of my worries.

Suddenly, a deep voice, belonging to another male, booms through the night, “You, here! What an unexpected surprise, honoured cousin!”

My customer curses under his breath,

The newcomer saunters closer towards us. His leather boots make no sound on the gravel, but each step of his echoes within my very soul. “If I had known that your income is too low for the services of Ostal Blanc, then I would have asked papa for an increase on your behalf.”

So there are laws against what happened to me since my arrival on Sapuhru. That means that there is hope. Even for the children.

I count on the decency of my saviour. “If you do not draw back your spiked belongings at once, you can gather their splinters in the dune sea,” he says.

Abruptly, my customer backs off of me, bringing his robes in order.

“May I help? I have very skilled hands you know.”

My customer shakes his head in blind panic.

With relief I glide down the wall as much as my wooden leg makes this possible.

“I suspect, you were on the way home, honoured cousin?” the speaker moves on, using his politeness as a very delicate weapon.

“Oui,” my customer is able to mutter. Yes.

“Then tell papa that we are on the way to the House of Healing. We found a pregnant Daoine Sidhe girl who needs help. She was attacked by some scoundrel who tried to take advantage of her.”

Now my saviour stands directly in front of me. He is a large figure in midnight blue robes. I blink at the aura that surrounds him. He is like sunshine washing over me, but there is also darkness.

I could cry with happiness.

A son of the sky walker, of Dealg, reveals himself to me!

The Force truly works in mysterious ways.

I had already stopped looking for a saviour in these dirty streets.

“Cover yourself and come with me!” he commands me with the air of someone who was used to being obeyed without questioning.

Somehow, I am able to find my own voice again, which proves to be extremely hoarse due to the lack of water. “I am not allowed to go away with strangers.”

Which is a lame excuse and we both know it.

“I would feel honoured if you would join me instead of my cousin or the city guard.”

Of course I will join him. I would be a total fool not to grasp this unique chance. Perhaps he might even get the children back to their families on Draconis. Provided that he is nothing like his half-sister Mórag.

“Everything is fine, commander!” My saviour turns to one of his soldiers. “The young lady here fell victim to criminals that trample our holy laws with their dirty boots. Leave them to me!”

I do not wish anybody to know how much I am aware of his significance in the Force. His name though is unknown to me. Dealg has sired many children since his exile. “Who are You?” I ask politely.

My saviour bows in front of me, showing that he possesses courtly manners. “Vicomte Ankoù, at your service.”

Of course, the night crawler is him. Jonc is right to fear such a powerful Force bender.

He nods towards an angry young teenager girl. “And this is my honoured step-sister, Marquise Isabeau Riwalan.”

I reveal my identity. “I am Sionnach O'Conghaile. A farmer’s daughter.”

He gives me a long and thoughtful look, which tells me he knows all of my background story. Then he replies, “Well met, milady.” My hand gets trapped by his. “And now you should follow me if you want to bear your child alive.”

“I, I...” My voice breaks.

To speak about my baby boy is asking too much under the current circumstances.

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(To be continued!)

 

she is safe

 

Great update! I am happy she is safe and will be in capable healer hands/care.

 

Well, considering this guy is the night crawler, I'd say she's "safe", but good enough for now, and probably an improvement, at least in the short term. Interesting how much she instantly grasps about him, as he seems to also do about her (or does he know from somewhere else?). Aww, a young Isa great to see her back, this time from an impartial, but kind, eye.