Mark Paren
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The morning of August sixth arrived clear and warm, the sky a pale and cloudless blue that stretched from the ridge to the horizon without interruption. Aiden was up before anyone else. He stood in the garden in the early light, the dew already burning off the grass, and looked at the ridge. The specific point on the Bricklieve Mountains was exactly where Cianán had shown him weeks ago from this same spot, his arm alongside Aiden’s, his finger tracing the line. The sun would reach it tonigh
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There is more to came. We haven’t seen the last of the decendants of Bres (the Bresnahans). Thanks for commenting.
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This was intended as a breather chapter. I’m glad you picked up on it. Thanks for commenting.
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I’m happy you picked up on this. It is an important chapter for Aiden’s character arc.
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Four days. Thanks for commenting.
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Breakfast was bacon and eggs and toast with marmalade, which Cianán had discovered early in the summer and approached with the same focused reverence he brought to everything Rowan put in front of him. Declan read the paper. Rowan refilled cups without being asked. The morning was ordinary and easy in the way the mornings had become. Afterward, while Rowan cleared the plates, Aiden looked at Cianán across the table. “Come up,” he said. “I want to show you my room.” Cianán followed
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Prescient questions which we will know more about in the next few chapters.
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I’m glad you’re enjoying it. Thanks for commenting.
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Cianàn is afraid of the loneliness. His love for Aiden saved them both. If Aiden entered the otherworld he may never have returned.
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Though mythic, Cianàn possesses human weakness. Thanks for commenting.
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The morning after Strandhill felt easy in the way that only mornings after genuinely good days could feel. The heat had broken overnight, leaving the air clear and cool, the hills sharp against a sky that was purely, uncomplicatedly blue. Aiden came downstairs to find Rowan already at the Aga and Declan at the table with his notebook, and neither of them said anything about the previous day beyond Rowan asking if his shoulders were sore from paddling and Aiden saying no and meaning yes.
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You may be right. The Tuatha Dé Danann are sometimes compared to the Bronze Age Beaker People, considered fierce warriors. Thanks for commenting.
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That’s right, and they can’t even define it. They just feel it. Similar to Jungian collective unconscious.
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That's funny. Will you be here all week? Ta-dum!
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The Bresnahan’s have deep rooted grievances — very deep and very old. Thanks for commenting.
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Twenty five chapters is the current projection. Thanks for sticking with the story.
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The heat arrived early, the kind that settled over the hills before breakfast and made the farmhouse kitchen feel close and airless before anyone had finished their coffee. Rowan had opened every window and was standing in front of the Aga with the expression of a man questioning his life choices. Aiden came downstairs to find the table set with four bowls, four spoons, and a box of Quaker Oat Squares sitting in the center like a centerpiece. “It’s too hot to cook,” Rowan announced. “W
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In this case, they don’t want things to change and they don’t even know why. Thanks for the comment.
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Thank you for the kind words!
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You make some good points, though the Fomorians, ancestors of the Bresnahans, were in Ireland far earlier than the Tuatha Dé Danann (Cianàn). That’s digging deeper into the mythology, then most people are probably comfortable with..
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Cormac is driven by forces he doesn’t comprehend. I hope I’ve provided sufficient backstory to make the Bresnahan family’s actions comprehensible. Please let me know if I’ve succeeded. If not, I can elaborate further. I’m sometimes hesitant to overexplain things..
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Hmmm. Could be.
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The email from Dr. Nair arrived on a Tuesday morning while Declan was at the kitchen table with his second coffee and the previous day’s notes spread in front of him. Aiden heard the notification from across the room, watched Declan pick up his phone, and saw the particular quality of stillness that came over him when something required his full attention. Rowan looked up from the Aga. “What is it?” “Priya’s preliminary results.” Declan was already reading, his eyes moving slowly
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Beautifully stated.
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Good observation. There are ways to get around it in the mythology, but I probably won’t get into it. Thanks for the comment.
