The Land of the Living and the Dead: an epic historical fantasy novel based on Irish history, myth and legend (Gael Song Book 3)
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The Land of the Living and the Dead: an epic historical fantasy novel based on Irish history, myth and legend (Gael Song Book 3)
Cogadh re Gáedhel re Gallaibh and Njál’s saga. If you want to find out anything more about this time period (other than what you can find via a Google search), these books might be useful: Brian Boru and the Battle of Clontarf by Seán Duffy Viking Pirates and Christian Princes by Benjamin Hudson Irish Kings and High-Kings by Francis John Byrne Wars
... See moreShe had long, red hair and dark eyes. She fought with two blades in her hands. The wind swirled over her, the soil moved at her touch, the rain burst from the sky at her command. And upon her blade, fire danced.
Once I had seen my sister and all the people of Ireland burning, but now a new vision played out in my mind. I had not saved my sister, but I had saved the land, the people.
The wind took my mind from me. There was more to see, so I let myself go, let my mind finally be free of the body that had chained it to the earth, and became part of the wind
But then the wind blew, and the sight of my son disappeared from my eyes. I was cracked. Cracked. I could speak no more, tell him no more.
Broccan deflated beside me. The air around him swirled with the colour blue. Sadness. Grief. It was the only colour around him now.
“The Fomorians know of this island,” I said. “I had to summon her to somewhere they would never reach. So I flew to Rathlin Island and used the power of the hawthorn tree at the edge of the warrior land to call her.”
I had to make it back to the crannog before the sun set or else I would be dead. I did not fear death the way some did. Yet, I needed to live. The wind had shown me pictures that I had not seen with my own eyes, and I had words that one day I needed to speak.
The land of the living was behind me now. Gone. The land of the dead lay ahead. My life was over, but my death was not one of dirt and worms and eternal darkness, nor one of godly punishment or forever wars. Only a place of love and the touch of those who loved me in return.