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Maíocht: Chapter 3
After a few minutes Caitlin retreated back into the house and I was left alone to my thoughts. I knew my sister was right, but still, I had to know what that book had to do with me. It was like a something from a fantasy novel. The only one who could give me the answers was Fíona.
The sun was nearly gone when I decided to make a break for it. I snuck back into the house to find the living room empty and dark. Hopefully everyone was in bed. I grabbed the book and rushed out towards town. Out of the corner of my eye I saw something dark running next to me. I turned my head and Saorsa looked up at me with bright green eyes. A smile spread across my face and I picked up the pace.
We had reached the farmers market as everyone was packing up. Thank goodness, we made it just in time. I looked around for the shop, until I saw the worn out sign. There was a single candle lit in the window, and I could see Fíona talking to a man. He was tall and slender, but that was all I could tell from his silhouette.
I pushed open the door and called, “Fíona, I’m back.”
There was a quiet shuffling in the back of the store, and then she was in front of me.
I tried peeking around her and questioned, “Who were you talking to?”
“There are so many more important questions I had expected you to ask me first,” she said as she pulled me back to her table.
She motioned for me to take a seat, and she sat opposite me. We sat in silence for what seemed like forever until she finally spoke.
“Well?”
“Well what?”
She rolled her eyes and said, “You’re the one with the book dear. I was hoping you would have some questions ready for me.”
“Oh,” I blushed sheepishly. Of course that’s what she was expecting. I felt like an idiot.
“However, if you preferred I started the conversation. I can do that.”
She pulled the book back across the table. At least she was trying to be nice.
“So my question for you; did you have any trouble reading it?”
I shook my head.
She bit her cheek and commented, “Very interesting.”
“I know this may sound like a dumb question, but should it be?”
“As a matter of fact it should.” She paused a moment before she finished. “Elizabeth, remember when I told you that Caledonia was a mythical country?”
I nodded.
“Well, I lied. It’s a very real place, and that book is written in Caledonian.”
“But how is that even possible,” I blurted. “I can read it just fine!”
“That’s the problem. Caledonian is a dead language. Hardly anyone can read it, especially not a fourteen year old who’s lived in the United States her entire life.”
She slid her finger along the page and pondered, “Still, you can. It doesn’t make sense, unless-”
She stopped herself with a start, and pressed her lips hard together.
“Unless what?”
She pursed her lips, “It doesn’t matter. You know, you’re the one who wanted to come to me, and you still haven’t asked me anything yet.”
“You know my only question.”
“I’m surprised,” she said with a cocked eye brown. “You don’t have any questions about the book?”
She wasn’t outright telling me what I wanted to know. It was as if she kept leading me back to the book. I looked back at it and thought for a moment. There were actually a few questions that I had come up with. Fine, I’d play her little game. In the end, though, I had better get what I came for.
“Okay, first question. The book said something about Myrddin being a class A sorcerer. What does that mean?”
“Ah,” she smiled. “That’s a very good question. During that time it was believed that sorcery was split into three classes: the lower class being C, the middle class B, and the higher class A. Those who were in the C class of sorcery usually only had traces of magic in their bloodline. Perhaps they had an ancestor who was a sorcerer, but they married a mortal. Thus thinning the magic they possessed. After a few generations the magic would be so diluted, that it’s hardly even there. Still class C sorcerers still possess some abilities, thus they’re still considered sorcerers.”
She stood up and started to make some more tea, as she continued with her explanation, “Now class B sorcerers could in theory possess just as much power as a class A, but they have a special job that is usually passed down by their parents. It’s their job to mentor those mortals who happened to have had the capacity to perform a few spells. Another job they often had was mentoring the next generation of sorcerers. Most of the children would actually live with their mentors until they were able to perform all of the basic spells.”
“So in short they were the teachers of sorcery?”
“I guess you could say that,” she smiled, as she stirred the tea. “My mother used to say ‘Behind every great A sorcerer, there’s a B smiling proudly’.”
After she had finished the tea, poured us both a glass, and sat down, she spoke again, “Now, in the early years of sorcery there was a council of elders called the Comshélai. They were some of the first ever recorded to have mastered the art of sorcery. They were chosen to rule over the lower class sorcerers and to monitor the interaction between them and mortals. Now you have to remember that in those days there were very few that possessed any kind of magical powers. Class C sorcerers didn’t even exist yet.”
“Really?” I asked, surprised. “Not a single one.”
“No, and there were several in the Comshélai that wanted to keep it that way.”
“How many were there all together? Where did they rule? I mean was it just one country?”
“I thought you only had one question,” she grinned.
I was about to defend myself, when she stopped me, “Still these are all great questions. First there were a total of six elders in the Comshélai. They coincided with the six Celtic nations: Éire, Cymru, Breizh, Kernow, Mannin Ellan Vannin, and Alba. Each ruled their own nation, but they also worked together to govern the six nations as a whole.”
“Who were each of the elders, and what did the Celtic nations have to do with the magical communities?”
“There’s quite a bit to that part of history. How about I tell you about it while we take a drive?”
“Okay, but I have to get Saorsa first,” I added, as we walked to the front the store.
“Saorsa?”
“She’s a cat I found in the attic of the house my family is staying in. We had this really weird connection.”
Fíona’s eyes widened a little. “What kind of connection.”
“You’d laugh at me,” I sighed, as I pulled the door open.
“You’d be surprised the stories I’ve heard.”
“Well, I petted her and all of a sudden I was looking through her eyes. It was like her life was flashing through my brain. That’s how I found out her name.”
She sounded astonished, when she breathed, “A femóla. I didn’t think there were any left.”
When we were outside Saorsa came running and lunged into my arms. I hugged her and said, “You know I remember seeing that word in the book. What is it?”
While she stroked Saorsa’s back she commented, “A few sorcerers thought it wise to give animals a limited amount of magic ability, just in case they needed a backup source. Many B’s would have them as helpers to bring them ingredients and such. But most of them were destroyed after Myrddin died.”
“Yeah but that’s all myth right?” I snorted. “It’s just something from a storybook.”
She strode ahead of me and questioned, “Is it?”
My eyes drifted towards Saorsa and then back up at Fíona. “What? Are you serious?”
I trotted up back in step with her and persisted, “Are telling me that everything you’ve said so far is all true?”
“What do you think Elizabeth?”
“I-I don’t know,” I stuttered, taken aback. The thought of any of this being real was appalling to me. How could all that fairytale stuff happen in reality?
Fíona got into her car and rolled down the passenger window.
“If you really want all the answers, I suggest you get in the car.”
For a few seconds nothing happened. My body refused to take the step forward. After a quick meow from Saorsa, my legs seemed to regain their movement and I slipped into the passenger seat. After I was buckled in, she put the car in drive and we were off.
“So, who were the six elders?”
“Wow you don’t give a person a break.”
“It’s your fault for telling me anything in the first place,” I snorted.
“Okay, okay,” She laughed. “So I already told you the six nations. Each had their own leader. The eldest member of the Comshélai was Domhall. He was the wisest and most experienced sorcerer, and some claim that he was even the first one in existence. They say that he was given the gift of magic by the gods, because of how pure of a life he led. Whether that’s actually true or not, only he knew. He was ruler over the nation of Éire, which is now Ireland. The next elder was Sinnoch. He was a younger sorcerer, and was therefore easily influenced by others. Yet, he was a fair ruler and was given the nation of Cymru. Adelice, a kind and beloved sorceress, was given the nation of Briezh. The nation of Kernow was led by Domhall’s younger brother, Talwyn. He was a little childish if you ask me, but still strong hearted and an amazing leader. Then there was Myrddin.”
“Wait, he was one of the six elders?”
“Some say he was the best, but I digress. Being Domhall’s closest confident, he was given the largest nation Alba, or as it was known at that time, Caledonia. Domhall of course gave his friend a little leeway with the name. So, to this day, most of the magical folk still call it Caledonia.”
“What about the sixth one?”
Fíona’s face grew dark as she spoke, “That would be Mannin Ellan Vannin, which was ruled by the sorceress Orwen.
“Orwen,” I thought out loud. “I remember that name! She’s the one who they think killed Myrddin, right.”
“That’s correct. She was a power hungry, rash individual,” she snarled as she gripped the steering wheel a little tighter.
“What exactly happened?”
She calmed down long enough to continue with the story. “First of all she was indeed an extremely powerful sorceress, especially for her age. As the youngest of the six elders she acted rashly and with little thought about the consequences.”
“So she and Myrddin didn’t get along.”
“Well it’s hard to say the he didn’t get along with anyone. Myrddin was an extremely kind hearted elder. He was the first to suggest that the magical community start to integrate with the mortals. He believed that everyone had the capacity for magic; it simply depended on whether or not they would act upon it. That’s why the B’s started helping the common people in the first place and then after a while they even started having children that had one parent that was mortal and another that was magical. Thus the C class was created. Many considered this to be a good thing, including most of the elders. However, Orwen was furious. She believed that the sorcerers were above everybody else, and should be treated as such. She didn’t understand that they needed each other to live in an ideal society. Like I said she didn’t think before she acted. But it wasn’t just her. She had already gathered quite a following from the other sorcerers that felt the same way.
“At around this time she and Sinnoch had a daughter, whose name was Orddu. I always felt bad for her. She grew up in such a broken and wretched home. Sinnoch tried to take her away from her mother but, it was no use. Orwen was filling her head with her insane ideals. That of course led to her eventual demise by King Arthur. I’m not sure if she even knew her own daughter had been killed when she and Myrddin disappeared.”
“That’s so miserable,” I sighed. “She was so consumed by her own greedy intentions, that she lost everything. What happened to her followers in the end?”
“They mostly disbanded. Of course there will always be those who think like that, but nothing has ever come of it.”
“So let me get this straight; sorcerers actually exist, I have a magical cat sitting in my lap, and everything in that book was the truth?”
“That’s about right.”
“And what exactly does all this have to do with me?”
“Use that brain of yours, Elizabeth. You can read Caledonian and you’ve made an exclusive connection to a femóla, which was created to aid magical people. What does that all equate?”
My jaw dropped, as the wheels began to turn in my brain. “No way, you think I have magical powers? That’s ridiculous! I mean, that’s impossible. I can’t believe it.”
“I never said I was positive, but everything seems to be pointing that way. I thought I felt something when you first came into my shop.”
“Wait, you felt something. What does that mean that you’re…” I couldn’t even finish my sentence, as a smile broke out onto her face.
“Been a class B sorceress since I was born, just like my mother.”
“No way,” I snorted. “This can’t be possible. Nope, nu-uh, not even remotely.”
“Léadro.”
Right as the word passed through her lips, a small ball of light appeared in front of me. All I could do was stare at it dumbfounded. It was true. It was all true. My brain still wouldn’t comprehend it, and I absentmindedly tried to grab the orb. Saorsa sniffed at my feeble attempt, and went for it herself. Fíona laughed at the both of us and just as it appeared the light was gone.
“So do you believe me now?”
“What other choice do I have?” I shrugged.
Saorsa cocked her head and tried to bat at the now nonexistent orb of light. I flicked her nose and groaned, “It’s gone. You’re making us both look bad.”
I turned back towards the window and watched the trees pass by in the darkness.
“Where exactly are we going?”
“It’s a place where sorcerers aren’t the only mythical ones around.”
“There’s more?”
“Oh, Elizabeth. There’s more than you could ever imagine.”
For the first time, I felt that it was a very real possibility that I was in over my head.
After a few minutes Caitlin retreated back into the house and I was left alone to my thoughts. I knew my sister was right, but still, I had to know what that book had to do with me. It was like a something from a fantasy novel. The only one who could give me the answers was Fíona.
The sun was nearly gone when I decided to make a break for it. I snuck back into the house to find the living room empty and dark. Hopefully everyone was in bed. I grabbed the book and rushed out towards town. Out of the corner of my eye I saw something dark running next to me. I turned my head and Saorsa looked up at me with bright green eyes. A smile spread across my face and I picked up the pace.
We had reached the farmers market as everyone was packing up. Thank goodness, we made it just in time. I looked around for the shop, until I saw the worn out sign. There was a single candle lit in the window, and I could see Fíona talking to a man. He was tall and slender, but that was all I could tell from his silhouette.
I pushed open the door and called, “Fíona, I’m back.”
There was a quiet shuffling in the back of the store, and then she was in front of me.
I tried peeking around her and questioned, “Who were you talking to?”
“There are so many more important questions I had expected you to ask me first,” she said as she pulled me back to her table.
She motioned for me to take a seat, and she sat opposite me. We sat in silence for what seemed like forever until she finally spoke.
“Well?”
“Well what?”
She rolled her eyes and said, “You’re the one with the book dear. I was hoping you would have some questions ready for me.”
“Oh,” I blushed sheepishly. Of course that’s what she was expecting. I felt like an idiot.
“However, if you preferred I started the conversation. I can do that.”
She pulled the book back across the table. At least she was trying to be nice.
“So my question for you; did you have any trouble reading it?”
I shook my head.
She bit her cheek and commented, “Very interesting.”
“I know this may sound like a dumb question, but should it be?”
“As a matter of fact it should.” She paused a moment before she finished. “Elizabeth, remember when I told you that Caledonia was a mythical country?”
I nodded.
“Well, I lied. It’s a very real place, and that book is written in Caledonian.”
“But how is that even possible,” I blurted. “I can read it just fine!”
“That’s the problem. Caledonian is a dead language. Hardly anyone can read it, especially not a fourteen year old who’s lived in the United States her entire life.”
She slid her finger along the page and pondered, “Still, you can. It doesn’t make sense, unless-”
She stopped herself with a start, and pressed her lips hard together.
“Unless what?”
She pursed her lips, “It doesn’t matter. You know, you’re the one who wanted to come to me, and you still haven’t asked me anything yet.”
“You know my only question.”
“I’m surprised,” she said with a cocked eye brown. “You don’t have any questions about the book?”
She wasn’t outright telling me what I wanted to know. It was as if she kept leading me back to the book. I looked back at it and thought for a moment. There were actually a few questions that I had come up with. Fine, I’d play her little game. In the end, though, I had better get what I came for.
“Okay, first question. The book said something about Myrddin being a class A sorcerer. What does that mean?”
“Ah,” she smiled. “That’s a very good question. During that time it was believed that sorcery was split into three classes: the lower class being C, the middle class B, and the higher class A. Those who were in the C class of sorcery usually only had traces of magic in their bloodline. Perhaps they had an ancestor who was a sorcerer, but they married a mortal. Thus thinning the magic they possessed. After a few generations the magic would be so diluted, that it’s hardly even there. Still class C sorcerers still possess some abilities, thus they’re still considered sorcerers.”
She stood up and started to make some more tea, as she continued with her explanation, “Now class B sorcerers could in theory possess just as much power as a class A, but they have a special job that is usually passed down by their parents. It’s their job to mentor those mortals who happened to have had the capacity to perform a few spells. Another job they often had was mentoring the next generation of sorcerers. Most of the children would actually live with their mentors until they were able to perform all of the basic spells.”
“So in short they were the teachers of sorcery?”
“I guess you could say that,” she smiled, as she stirred the tea. “My mother used to say ‘Behind every great A sorcerer, there’s a B smiling proudly’.”
After she had finished the tea, poured us both a glass, and sat down, she spoke again, “Now, in the early years of sorcery there was a council of elders called the Comshélai. They were some of the first ever recorded to have mastered the art of sorcery. They were chosen to rule over the lower class sorcerers and to monitor the interaction between them and mortals. Now you have to remember that in those days there were very few that possessed any kind of magical powers. Class C sorcerers didn’t even exist yet.”
“Really?” I asked, surprised. “Not a single one.”
“No, and there were several in the Comshélai that wanted to keep it that way.”
“How many were there all together? Where did they rule? I mean was it just one country?”
“I thought you only had one question,” she grinned.
I was about to defend myself, when she stopped me, “Still these are all great questions. First there were a total of six elders in the Comshélai. They coincided with the six Celtic nations: Éire, Cymru, Breizh, Kernow, Mannin Ellan Vannin, and Alba. Each ruled their own nation, but they also worked together to govern the six nations as a whole.”
“Who were each of the elders, and what did the Celtic nations have to do with the magical communities?”
“There’s quite a bit to that part of history. How about I tell you about it while we take a drive?”
“Okay, but I have to get Saorsa first,” I added, as we walked to the front the store.
“Saorsa?”
“She’s a cat I found in the attic of the house my family is staying in. We had this really weird connection.”
Fíona’s eyes widened a little. “What kind of connection.”
“You’d laugh at me,” I sighed, as I pulled the door open.
“You’d be surprised the stories I’ve heard.”
“Well, I petted her and all of a sudden I was looking through her eyes. It was like her life was flashing through my brain. That’s how I found out her name.”
She sounded astonished, when she breathed, “A femóla. I didn’t think there were any left.”
When we were outside Saorsa came running and lunged into my arms. I hugged her and said, “You know I remember seeing that word in the book. What is it?”
While she stroked Saorsa’s back she commented, “A few sorcerers thought it wise to give animals a limited amount of magic ability, just in case they needed a backup source. Many B’s would have them as helpers to bring them ingredients and such. But most of them were destroyed after Myrddin died.”
“Yeah but that’s all myth right?” I snorted. “It’s just something from a storybook.”
She strode ahead of me and questioned, “Is it?”
My eyes drifted towards Saorsa and then back up at Fíona. “What? Are you serious?”
I trotted up back in step with her and persisted, “Are telling me that everything you’ve said so far is all true?”
“What do you think Elizabeth?”
“I-I don’t know,” I stuttered, taken aback. The thought of any of this being real was appalling to me. How could all that fairytale stuff happen in reality?
Fíona got into her car and rolled down the passenger window.
“If you really want all the answers, I suggest you get in the car.”
For a few seconds nothing happened. My body refused to take the step forward. After a quick meow from Saorsa, my legs seemed to regain their movement and I slipped into the passenger seat. After I was buckled in, she put the car in drive and we were off.
“So, who were the six elders?”
“Wow you don’t give a person a break.”
“It’s your fault for telling me anything in the first place,” I snorted.
“Okay, okay,” She laughed. “So I already told you the six nations. Each had their own leader. The eldest member of the Comshélai was Domhall. He was the wisest and most experienced sorcerer, and some claim that he was even the first one in existence. They say that he was given the gift of magic by the gods, because of how pure of a life he led. Whether that’s actually true or not, only he knew. He was ruler over the nation of Éire, which is now Ireland. The next elder was Sinnoch. He was a younger sorcerer, and was therefore easily influenced by others. Yet, he was a fair ruler and was given the nation of Cymru. Adelice, a kind and beloved sorceress, was given the nation of Briezh. The nation of Kernow was led by Domhall’s younger brother, Talwyn. He was a little childish if you ask me, but still strong hearted and an amazing leader. Then there was Myrddin.”
“Wait, he was one of the six elders?”
“Some say he was the best, but I digress. Being Domhall’s closest confident, he was given the largest nation Alba, or as it was known at that time, Caledonia. Domhall of course gave his friend a little leeway with the name. So, to this day, most of the magical folk still call it Caledonia.”
“What about the sixth one?”
Fíona’s face grew dark as she spoke, “That would be Mannin Ellan Vannin, which was ruled by the sorceress Orwen.
“Orwen,” I thought out loud. “I remember that name! She’s the one who they think killed Myrddin, right.”
“That’s correct. She was a power hungry, rash individual,” she snarled as she gripped the steering wheel a little tighter.
“What exactly happened?”
She calmed down long enough to continue with the story. “First of all she was indeed an extremely powerful sorceress, especially for her age. As the youngest of the six elders she acted rashly and with little thought about the consequences.”
“So she and Myrddin didn’t get along.”
“Well it’s hard to say the he didn’t get along with anyone. Myrddin was an extremely kind hearted elder. He was the first to suggest that the magical community start to integrate with the mortals. He believed that everyone had the capacity for magic; it simply depended on whether or not they would act upon it. That’s why the B’s started helping the common people in the first place and then after a while they even started having children that had one parent that was mortal and another that was magical. Thus the C class was created. Many considered this to be a good thing, including most of the elders. However, Orwen was furious. She believed that the sorcerers were above everybody else, and should be treated as such. She didn’t understand that they needed each other to live in an ideal society. Like I said she didn’t think before she acted. But it wasn’t just her. She had already gathered quite a following from the other sorcerers that felt the same way.
“At around this time she and Sinnoch had a daughter, whose name was Orddu. I always felt bad for her. She grew up in such a broken and wretched home. Sinnoch tried to take her away from her mother but, it was no use. Orwen was filling her head with her insane ideals. That of course led to her eventual demise by King Arthur. I’m not sure if she even knew her own daughter had been killed when she and Myrddin disappeared.”
“That’s so miserable,” I sighed. “She was so consumed by her own greedy intentions, that she lost everything. What happened to her followers in the end?”
“They mostly disbanded. Of course there will always be those who think like that, but nothing has ever come of it.”
“So let me get this straight; sorcerers actually exist, I have a magical cat sitting in my lap, and everything in that book was the truth?”
“That’s about right.”
“And what exactly does all this have to do with me?”
“Use that brain of yours, Elizabeth. You can read Caledonian and you’ve made an exclusive connection to a femóla, which was created to aid magical people. What does that all equate?”
My jaw dropped, as the wheels began to turn in my brain. “No way, you think I have magical powers? That’s ridiculous! I mean, that’s impossible. I can’t believe it.”
“I never said I was positive, but everything seems to be pointing that way. I thought I felt something when you first came into my shop.”
“Wait, you felt something. What does that mean that you’re…” I couldn’t even finish my sentence, as a smile broke out onto her face.
“Been a class B sorceress since I was born, just like my mother.”
“No way,” I snorted. “This can’t be possible. Nope, nu-uh, not even remotely.”
“Léadro.”
Right as the word passed through her lips, a small ball of light appeared in front of me. All I could do was stare at it dumbfounded. It was true. It was all true. My brain still wouldn’t comprehend it, and I absentmindedly tried to grab the orb. Saorsa sniffed at my feeble attempt, and went for it herself. Fíona laughed at the both of us and just as it appeared the light was gone.
“So do you believe me now?”
“What other choice do I have?” I shrugged.
Saorsa cocked her head and tried to bat at the now nonexistent orb of light. I flicked her nose and groaned, “It’s gone. You’re making us both look bad.”
I turned back towards the window and watched the trees pass by in the darkness.
“Where exactly are we going?”
“It’s a place where sorcerers aren’t the only mythical ones around.”
“There’s more?”
“Oh, Elizabeth. There’s more than you could ever imagine.”
For the first time, I felt that it was a very real possibility that I was in over my head.
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Yay we get a little history about Caledonia. 
Stay tuned for more in the fourth chapter!! 
Maiocht (c)
Stay tuned for more in the fourth chapter!! Maiocht (c)
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