Legends and Life - 3. Chapter 3

Rabbie reached Tigh na Cailleach early on the day before Samhainn. He shook his head at the small structure with thirteen gray stones, shaped and resting on a long flat stone in front of the sheiling. They were pieces of rock, nothing more, and it galled Rabbie to be required to participate in this pagan nonsense. But his father laid down orders and Rabbie would follow them. At least he would be able to avoid the feast and dancing at the castle. If he traveled slowly on his way back he might even be able to eke another night of sleeping peacefully under the stars and delay his return until everyone had dispersed.

Tapping his fingers on the sheath of the dirk at his side, Rabbie considered the job. He needed to find some stones and fill in the chinks on the sides of the sheiling and then cut some fresh turves to fit over the small building and make it weather tight. He didn't want to do the job but as he had it, he would do it proper. He decided to find some smaller rocks to chink the gaps with first and find a likely spot to cut some turves where the ground was relatively soft. A short way back along the track was a burn that bubbled over a rocky bed and down a slope, creating a series of short waterfalls. The sound of the water was musical, restful. He walked slowly back, leading Duible instead of riding him.

Rabbie broke his fast there, stopping to dip a drink of the cold, clear water with his hands. Duible drank as well, though he was thwarted in finding the sweet water plants he so dearly loved. They had climbed a bit higher in the land and the frost had already hit the more vulnerable vegetation, killing off the more delicate flowers. Once he finished Rabbie sat for a short while as he lost himself in the sound and beauty of the water flowing down the hillside.

The ground nearby should be nice and soft and the rounded rocks worn down by the flowing water would work quite well for chinking in the sides of the sheiling. Mounting Duible he turned him around and they walked back along the path until he found a likely spot where the water was barely an ankle deep. Hobbling his horse Rabbie set to work. He grabbed a large sack and filled it with different stones until it was three quarters full. Tying it shut with a length of rope he made a loop to hang the bag from the saddle.

Then he laid a long cloth of rough material on the ground. Using a special curved knife he cut long rectangular strips of grass, lifting each up with a good thick coating of soft soil under them. He continued until he covered half the cloth, grunting as he released each strip from the earth and moved it to the cloth Taking a break he stood up and stretched his back. The long wide sleeves of his sark were getting soiled so he took it off. He folded it in half and laid it over his saddle where it would stay clean. He strode over to the water and scrubbed his hands with a bit of the sandy grit in the flowing water before using them to scoop up a cold drink.

Dipping his hand again Rabbie poured more of the icy water over his face and neck then ran wet fingers through his russet hair. He shivered as small cold trails trickled down the lines in the muscles of his bare chest and back. He hitched up the fabric of his kilt to scratch an itch on his thigh as he looked at the raw patch of dark brown earth laid bare. Small stones and worms littered the rich soil. He glanced at the pile of turves and shook his head. His work would not get done if he was standing still. Muscles in his back flexed and rippled as he stretched his sore back one last time and then got back to work.

In another hour he had as many turves as would fit on the cloth. Attaching a stick to one edge of the cloth took little work but he finally managed to fit in through the loops sewn on each end. Tying a rope to the edges of the pole made a rough harness to pull the cloth more easily over the hilly ground. Rabbie put his sark back on then removed the hobbles from Duible; he could be trusted to follow behind Rabbie on the trip back. Already weary, he stepped into his makeshift harness and stood up. The loop fit around his chest and he reached behind him to steady the two lengths of rope as he took the first step back toward the sheiling dragging the load of turves behind him and clucking for Duible to follow.

Breathing hard Rabbie finally dropped the harness next to the sheiling. He sighed in relief but the sun was already lowering toward the western horizon so he took only a short break. Removing his sark again he looked at the raw spots under his armpits where the rope had chafed, even after just a short distance. The irritated skin burned in the cool late afternoon air but it was better than a sweaty cloth sticking to sore areas. Rabbie decided to chink the walls before he laid the turves down on the top of the small building.

He clucked once and Duible came to him, nuzzling his hand with his nose. "Aww, no treats for ye, Duible. There's still work to be doing." Nevertheless he took a minute to rub the horse’s head and patted his shoulder. Reaching up Rabbie took the sack of stones and saddle off Duible. He pulled the rags out of his saddlebags and hobbled Duible.

For a brief moment the pair leaned against each other as Rabbie stopped to stroke his neck. He arched under the caress for a moment before spying a succulent patch of grass and he moved toward it. Rabbie chuckled, the horse was ruled by his stomach but Duible had been his for a while now and was a steady companion. He never tried to get him to talk about this woman or that one, much less bed or marry one!

Shaking his head Rabbie picked up the bag and set to work. He had to chink all the walls with stones so that the snow would find no errant hole to blow through. An hour or two of that and he was finally satisfied. Laying the turves went faster. Rabbie made a thick roof that would soon harden and freeze solid in the coming winter. It was just before dark when Rabbie began to move the stones in the sheiling. He wanted them all in place before the sun fully sank below the horizon. He just made it and began to pile up stones before the door.

Finally finished Rabbie sank to the ground before the sheiling. He was done before Samhainn fell and his father's little superstitious leaning was appeased. The air was rapidly feeling cooler as he stopped producing heat as he worked hard to finish before sunset. Grabbing a handful of grass Rabbie wiped his bare chest and arms to wipe off the salty sweat. A work of a few minutes had the tinder and firewood he had brought with him made into a small fire to ward off the chill of the night air. Once again warming up some bread and cheese he added some cured meat to his sandwich for a typical Scot sandwich. The labors of the day gave him a hearty appetite and he finished it off in a few short minutes. He washed it down with a drink from the water bag he filled at the tarn. Grabbing an apple out of his saddlebag that was meant for Duible he split it in two with his dirk. He shared it with the horse that stayed near the safety of the fire, crunching his half of the apple peacefully as he gazed up at the darkening sky.

The moon was full, the sky full of stars as the rare occurrence of a cloudless night blessed him with weather no oft seen that time of year. Deciding not to waste energy putting up his tent Rabbie rolled up in his plaid and blanket and lay down on the ground. He fell quickly into a deep yet restless sleep. He tossed and turned, muttering darkly as he battled a sense of foreboding in his dreams.

***

The hours passed without incident until midnight and then once again rising from the nearby water Coventina watched the man. She studied his dark aura and creased brow for a few moments before she swept her gaze around the hillside, stopping abruptly when she looked at the sheiling. Her body stiffened and her locked knees were the only thing that kept her upright as her gaze fell upon the small stone sheiling. She almost fainted as she witnessed a vision that left her trembling in fear and pain for the beautiful stranger. Stepping off the bank she allowed her body to slip beneath the water, desperate to find Somhlth as soon as possible.

***

Somhlth was walking, leading his horse just a few hours distant from Rabbie's sleeping place. He was unable to tire and felt no hunger or thirst that he did not desire to feel but Cochlan didn’t have the same advantages, still being a mortal creature. He had endurance and stamina but that did not save him from the major bruise to his left hoof when his foot came down upon a sharp stone hidden in the grass a few hours before. When he began to limp Somhlth had no choice but to dismount and walk his steed until he healed. Sensing Cochlan's thirst he made their way toward a small spring that bubbled and flowed into a quiet pool sheltered in a small clearing.

Cochlan was drinking when the water started to move and Coventina flowed upward out of the still water of the pool. He started and snorted in agitation as he stepped away from the water when she stepped onto the bank. Running across the grass to where Somhlth stood looking eastward Coventina was extremely distraught and talking so quickly that he could not understand a word she said. Her eyes were huge and her skin pale. As a goddess she had little to fear but something had her almost wild with terror.

"Coventina, still your tongue! I canna understand ye. Calm yerself and then start again."

"The man that I saw at my pool before? I had a vision of him, the man whose dreams were dark and shadowed with suffering. He was at Tigh Na Cailleach laying the stones to rest for winter."

"Aye, what of it? So Cailleach bid the men of the valley, and so they have done since she decreed it. She grants fair winter, good harvest, and easy hunting to them in recompense for sheltering us during the storms years ago. With the new gods stalking this land I am pleased they follow our Mither's orders. She wouldna take disobedience and disregard of her edicts ower well should she feel slighted."

"And so she wilna," Coventina said direly.

"What do ye mean?" Somhlth asked, crossing his arms over his chest. "I thought ye said the man was there at the sheiling. He wasna desecrating it, was he?"

"Nay, the building was secure and the stones safely inside for the winter. Almost all of them, that is."

"Almost all?" Somhlth grabbed her shoulder in alarm. "Were some left out?"

"Aye." Conventina took a deep breath and met his worried gaze. "Yours!"

Somhlth closed his eyes. He may not be one of his mother's favored children but she was easily insulted and loved to punish mortals just as much as she enjoyed the worship she got for rewarding them. As long as she was given attention she cared not if her name was blessed or cursed, unless it was in her hearing of course. The mortal leaving out a single stone was disastrous. That it should be his stone?

That was simply an odd coincidence.

"I read the man, Somhlth. I saw the events to come. It will no be something his people will survive if Mither isn't placated."

"Perhaps if I go to him, explain his error. He can put it right!" Somhlth whistled for Cochlan in preparation to ride. He was a protective god, his duty to watch over the land and the people that lived on it. He could not allow his mother to punish them for such a little mistake.

"He wilna listen to ye!" Coventina cried. "He doesna believe in the old legends or us. He believes in the views of the modern world and doesna worship you, or I, or even Mither."

Somhlth's eyes widened and his breath caught. "If she sees this she will take it to mean that the men of this land have lost their faith in her and she will be swift to remind them of her powers. That would be bad, Coventina, verra bad."

"It will. And there is nothing ye or I can do about it. I have seen it; it will come to be unless ye can convince her that it is your insult to bear and not hers. Perhaps then she will allow the mortal to make retribution to ye and not her."

"Ye are sure that I wouldna be able to convince him that I am a god and he has done ill by the Cailleach this day?" Somhlth asked her, gripping her arms. "He wilna listen to reason and accept my direction to provide recompense for his insult?"

"Nay, it is not in him to believe in us right now. I fear he is lost to our powers and wouldna see ye; not even were you to stand screaming before his open eyes. The best hope for this land and it's people lies in you convincing Mither that this is beneath her notice." Coventina gasped as Somhlth's hands tightened on her arms in his anger and frustration.

His face thunderous Somhlth made himself let go before he hurt his delicate sister and marred her pale skin with unbecoming bruises. "I might as weel set the Cailleachan free myself. Ye ken as weel as I that she doesna care for me. She will rain down the worst she has to offer just to spite me if I ask her mercy in his place."

"Perhaps," Coventina whispered desperately. She hated the visions of suffering and death she had been forced to see. "But it is the only chance they have. Ye must go to her; ye must try to convince her that this is your insult to bear. Then ye must convince the human to somehow understand his wrong and make it right. To do less means utter destruction of this land and all its inhabitants."

"Ye said he wouldna see me even if I appeared to him. How am I to convince someone o' the truth who doesna think I even exist?" Somhlth asked in frustration.

"That is for you to figure out. I canna tell ye more than that."

"I'm sorry. Ye are doing your best, I ken that. I thank ye for finding me so fast. I will travel to the winter foraging grounds her herds favor. Perhaps if I hurry I shall be fortunate to find her afore she discovers this matter."

"Luck to ye, Somhlth, for ye shall need it." Coventina pulled her cloak about herself and moved into the small spring, stepping out onto the water before sinking beneath the water with barely a ripple to show her passing.

Somhlth needed speed and for that Cochlan must be whole. Sacrificing some of his own strength to heal Cochlan’s lame hoof Somhlth felt a sensation of weariness the expended energy left behind. It was the best choice however. To draw strength from the earth this close to Tigh na Cailleach would only draw his mother's attention in a direction he wished it far from.

Swinging up into the saddle Somhlth sat motionless for a few long moments. Some part of his body urged him to continue on his path from earlier to the man who caused so much turmoil. It was a small but curiously insistent voice in his mind that he had difficulty silencing. He knew that Coventina was right and he needed to find the Cailleach as soon as possible. Stilling the strong and steady hands that yearned to twitch the reins in the direction of the sheiling took effort but when he turned in the opposite direction he was able to leave the valley without looking back.

***

Finding the Cailleach was harder than one might think. She wandered the highlands of Scotland during the months after the harvest but before the hard snows came. Herds of red deer were gathered around her as she led them from safe pasture to safe pasture. No mortal dared harm the herd of the Cailleach. She was at the same time a protector and a punisher. Both were within her power and she was often a capricious goddess.

Somhlth rode the lands she favored, the high hills with their rocky crags and the shining waters of the mountain tarns warmed with the late season sun. He saw evidence of her passing, frost that refused to melt even in the middle of the day, trees bare of leaves and hibernating as if it were already deep winter. The land shivered as she passed over it and life withdrew to the smallest of sparks that waited for the awakening that would come in the spring.

Dawn, three days past the time he left Coventina brought Somhlth riding into his mother's presence. He dismounted silently. She was standing on the outside of a small clearing near a small spring that still flowed clear water. A tall gray rocky crag covered in moss at her back, she looked as ancient as the stone itself. She was covered in a voluminous dark blue cloak with a deep hood that shadowed her aged and wrinkled visage. Her eyes shined from its dim depths to pierce him and she beckoned him closer with the tall staff she held in one hand. It was a twisted bit of wood, taller than her measure, the end was wreathed in a spray of holly. The ground beneath it was frozen solid as she gestured with it and a thick path wove across the ground withering grass and bushes until it surrounded him and froze his feet.

Cochlan stood behind him and the encroaching cold made him neigh and prance, tossing his head. The sound broke the silence that had fallen the second he stepped out into the meadow. Somhlth turned and patted Cochlan on the neck, murmuring to him. The horse turned and walked away, a soft slap to his rump speeding his escape. Somhlth turned to look at his mother before following that icy path to stand before her.

"To seek me out ye must be desperate indeed, my son." she said. Her voice was thin and cold, like the whistle of a biting wind in a winter storm. Her powers flared and her breath fogged the chill air making Somhlth glad he had donned himself in the thick and warm garb of a well off Scotsman.

"There be things we must speak of, aye, Mither," he answered in a steady voice. He offered her a deep bow. "How do ye fare this morn?"

"Och, going to be minding your manners, are ye?" she cackled and then abruptly became serious, glaring at him. "I'm sure ye ken weel enough that I am no in the best o' moods for the now."

"Ye ken the mortal meant no harm, Mither," Somhlth started.

"Silence!" Her voice roared, deep and powerful and Somhlth was powerless to resist her powers. "Ye are mine own bairn and I ken weel enough your love o' the inhabitants o' this land, foolish as it is! But they dinna remember their place and the honor due me and mine. Such insult is no forgivable. Tis ower time they were reminded o' their duties."

The deer scattered at the sound of her rage and the land shivered at the sharp crack her staff made when she struck the ground. Everything living fled the mountain until the pair were left alone facing one another. Somhlth gathered his power and drew deep from the earth to break the hold his mother held over his tongue.

"Aye, men have little use for the old ways in these modern times. Ye gave the Campbell clan your word that if they held to end o' the bargain ye would bless their lands with peace and prosperity. They have failed in that bargain, weel I ken your anger at their ill faith. But it was my stone left out in the cold and tis my right to cry insult and demand recompense," Somhlth tried to reason with her.

"There canna be recompense possible for such insult save death." Cailleach's eyes gleamed at the thought and a cruel smile stretched her thin lips. “I wilna accept so little respect to me or mine. Tis ower long that this reminder o' my power and my supremacy were issued. Ye needna take part o' the punishment but ye wilna interfere."

Somhlth blanched, "Ye needna do this Mither, please! The people do no deserve such punishment for such a wee thing."

"Aye, they do and so shall they reap what they have earned," Cailleach cackled bitterly, "and I shall brook no interference. Dinna oppose me ower this, my son. Even a god is no immune to the punishment I am capable o' bringing to bear!" she warned him.

"I canna stand by and allow ye to ravage this land and these people, Mither!" Somhlth argued, "Tis not right! The mortal did no offend on purpose. Forgiveness and compassion for the mortals takes no effort but if ye do this, if ye bring down misery and death upon them, ye seal our fate. They will no seek the old gods and the old ways if we engineer their despair. Perhaps our time is ower and the new gods will hold sway. Tis the way of all things to pass." Somhlth paused before dropping to his knees before her, "If ye had any love for this land, for these people, dinna do this!" he beseeched her.

"It is no my way to forgive! I am The Cailleach. I am the Eldest. I will no be forgotten or set aside. I will sweep these lands free o' the taint o' the unbelievers and give birth to new legends to remind the mortals forever more who holds the power over their lives and deaths. None can survive without my goodwill and those puny mortals should have ken that before now." The Cailleach was livid in fury, ice forming all around the pair. Somhlth winced as his legs froze to the ground.

Cailleach knocked the end of her staff on the ground and the ice locked solid around his legs. "Here ye shall kneel and watch the mortals pay the price o' their disloyalty." She planted the end of her gnarled wood staff in the spring next to her and the water froze instantly into a clear sheet of ice. Her powers swirled around the surface of the ice in a dense white fog. When it faded he could see the land of the Campbells, the castle and village he had seen just a few days past in the silvery surface of the thick ice. Slowly riding into the keep was the man he had seen in Coventina's vision.

"I can see what ye see when you look at him, feel your fascination. Ye are ever ready to fight me ower the actions of these insignificant creatures. This night he shall feel the first breath of my retribution which will last until all he loves and protects is a wasteland and the people o' his clan are no more. Down to the last bairn the clan Campbell will pass into the mists and the lesson they learn will be passed from generation to generation among the other highland clans. The old ways must be observed and the reverence that is my due will be offered or they shall suffer the same fate."

Somhlth knew struggling against his bindings to the earth would not free him but he couldn't help but fight his mother's power over him. "Nay Mither, I think ye shall be the one who will be paying the price ere too long."

She cocked her head, "Think ye so? Let us see then, see how your precious mortals deal with the Cailleachan when they are set loose amongst them."

"Ye canna do that Mither!" Somhlth was aghast.

"Och, aye that I can and I will. Watch your precious mortals suffer and ken that ye can do nothing, my son."

Swirling her robes tighter to her body the Cailleach raised her staff high and brought it down on the earth with a thundering crack. A fast spreading ice flowed from the place the magical staff was grounded and spread outward faster and faster. Grasses crackled as they froze instantly and shattered in the first touch frigid wind that whistled through the clearing. Black clouds rolled across the sky and lightning crackled.

All around her body an eerie green light began to grow as she took in a deep breath and then blew it out in a powerful blast. All the leaves on the trees in sight were stripped from their branches and rained down in a flutter of oranges, reds, and yellows that withered in the air. A god was not easily chilled but even Somhlth shivered as the temperature plummeted until each breath burned like icy fire in his lungs.

Once again raising her staff high with both arms spread wide the Cailleach called out in a voice deep as the roar of a vast blizzard. She called for the Cailleachan in a commanding cry, "Heed my call, my spirits o' the winter storms. Come to me, come to me."

The winds rose and swirled around the clearing creating a maelstrom of leaves and small branches. Somhlth's eyes were wide in fear as he witnessed the calling of an ancient evil. The sound of the swirling wind rose until it was an ear-splitting scream, a blend of voices shrieking and wailing all around them. A gray mist flowed down from the threatening clouds and began to swirl inside the clearing.

The mist slowly formed into screaming wraiths that had not been released for hundreds of years. They were skeletal forms, clothed in gray tatters with stringy white hair streaming behind them. Their mouths were wide open, shrieking their fury and they stared at the Cailleach with eyes black as night as they circled her, summoned by her power.

"Mither! Stop this before it is too late!" Somhlth cried.

Cailleach sneered at him, seething in anger and injured pride. She pushed back the deep hood of her cloak exposing her lined blue skin and ugly face. "Oh no my son, ye ken weel I shall no go back on my word."

She turned to the Cailleachan and raised her staff high in the air."This land is to become a frozen wasteland! Air will freeze the lungs of any man foolhardy enough to brave stepping beyond his front door, the waters will become solid as rock. The animals will be driven from their winter roosts and the people will face starvation as the snows rage across the landscape burying them inside their homes. Go now, spread the storms until the oath breakers are completely obliterated. The Campbells will suffer and die as they feel my wrath!"

The Cailleachan's shrieks rose to a fever pitch as the wraiths flew back up into the sky and the clouds spread faster as they flew than any natural storm could move. Icy rain and sleet began to fall, tearing off what leaves remained on the trees and battering the grasses flat to the rock hard ground. Streams froze instantly as the storm winds blew across each crag and valley. Sharp deadly spikes formed as the waterfalls froze in mid-motion, several falling in the howling winds to drive several feet into the ground, though by rights they should have shattered. Death was now stalking the Campbells on icy feet and this heralded only the beginning.