NOVEL NEXT Chapter 5: Eira's short past
Over the years, Adir had a firm foundation.
From time to time, he appeared in the dreams of the druids to tell them what to do, sometimes to give them premonitions of the future, or sometimes to warn them of possible attacks. His name was known in all the countries of Europe.
In fact, Adir saw the creation of Rome until its fall, and in all this time, he was settled in Ireland, manifesting himself in the dreams of the Druids, to warn them that a kingdom from the west would rise and invade their lands.
At first he only started with one tribe, but after he began to gain reputation, he spread further afield.
Now in the present, Adir now only shows up in the dreams of a single person, no longer expanding again.
With the prophetic dreams cut off, several tribes made offerings towards their gods, to know their discontent, they believed they did something wrong. They executed several people as offerings in the hope that the wrath of their god would subside. To no avail.
The rumor spread, Anglo-Saxon England, with their spies, became aware of this fact. They went to war against Ireland.
There were three kingdoms in present-day England that were slowly emerging.
Adir's intervention caused these kingdoms, which were just taking root, to move land and sea to wipe out Ireland. They reached a tacit agreement and formed a coalition.
They firmly believed that there was only one being who could be called god.
Several kingdoms in England converted to Christianity, and claimed that there was only one true god, they were not going to allow pagan kingdoms to worship any other than their own.
Ireland's influence was growing over the decades, with the trade and alliances they formed.
The worshippers who believed in god, could not allow their vile words to poison the entire population. They had no choice but to invade Ireland and put an end to the whole charade of their god working miracles.
Ireland, which was slowly growing into a power. It also declared war on England, but since Ireland did not yet have a single king, but several. They could not reach a consensus.
Inside a ramshackle castle, the leaders of every region from all over Ireland were gathered.
With the economy booming, they would build stone castles. Little by little they were leaving their castles made of wood and furs.
There was no time, so they had all gathered at the castle that was most built, only this one was still half-built.
Without Adir's help, the kings were nervous. All except one, it was the only king, who, in his region, had only one druid who could listen to his god. For this reason they all gathered at one point, which was his castle.
This fearless king told all the others that in his kingdom they still had a druid who could hear the whispers of Belenos.
All the kings were doubtful, but he told them it was true and sent one of the guards to bring the druid who could hear him.
At the end of 10 minutes, they brought her, she was a young girl, about 15 years old, the girl had hair as white as snow, she possessed an ethereal beauty that enchanted all who had the privilege of contemplating her. Her long silver locks cascaded over her shoulders with a natural grace, creating a striking contrast to the purity of her complexion.
Her eyes, the color of the sky on a clear day, shone with a serene intensity.
Every glance from her blue eyes was like a flash of light that illuminated her angelic face, highlighting her delicate features and gentle smile. Her presence radiated a sense of peace and serenity, as if she were a muse that had emerged from a fairy tale to captivate the world with her timeless beauty.
Everyone present was captivated by the girl, like a forbidden fruit, they wanted to bite into it to find out what it tasted like.
The little girl, realizing this, smiled.
-If you lay a hand on me, my god will kill you in the most painful way possible," the little girl said in a joyful voice.
All those present at the meeting, froze, no one uttered a word, as believers, they know what the god Belenos is capable of, because they saw throughout history, the capacity of destruction that he did.
Their hands trembled, they felt a lump in their throat, desperation won them over, with the little strength they had, they shouted in unison, asking for forgiveness.
-My god says that, in order for their apologies to be heard, they must show total submission with their bodies.
The girl, with her innocent appearance, spoke, in the eyes of the kings, this beautiful girl is no longer someone they can touch at will.
They showed total submission with their bodies, their bodies were glued to the ground, as if they were trying to kiss him, they were not the least bit ashamed to do so, their god is almighty.
Their culture, thanks to Belenos, was able to grow, but also intervened in urgent matters such as foreign invasions.
Moreover, in their belief, when a warrior dies in battle, he will ascend to heaven, eat and drink with the gods at the great table.
If the god they worship is favoring the girl, it means that, if they do something against her, they will not be able to ascend as warriors, instead, their souls will be tortured until the end of time.
For this same reason, they were not affected by the humiliation of kissing the ground with their bodies.
The little girl saw their "humiliating" acts and did not mention anything, she was silent for a few seconds, until she spoke again.
-Belenos says that he will forgive them this time, and that the enemy will meet his tragic end when the sun is at its highest point of the day.
The girl walked calmly towards the exit and disappeared from their sight.
Everyone present held their breath, until they no longer saw her, they sighed with relief. They stood and sat on the wooden chairs, discussed the fact that the English invasion was going to fail, they relaxed, forgetting the subject and focused on alliances and engagements.
The main point of their discussions was about the little girl, they wanted to make a commitment with one of their children, they wanted the right to her hand in marriage.
They debated for hours, reaching a dead end, excited to know that they could have the favor of the god of victory. Their fantasies were shattered when the girl's attendant came suddenly, and said to them.
- The druidess, Eira, is pledged to our god Belenos body and soul, she cannot be pledged to a mortal - the boy's voice was like a slap in the faces of all of them.
They had to desist, with much regret, they left the subject of the engagement in oblivion and celebrated all night long for their promised victory.
In a dimly lit room, Eira, lying in the bedchamber, with her eyes closed, her consciousness dipped into her mind, there she could see her god. Eira was deeply in love with Adir.
She was lucky enough to meet him. She was a peasant in a village far from the conflicts of the other tribes, one day like any other, horsemen came to her village, looted and killed all the men, and the women were raped. Eira almost went through the same fate as her mother, until she saw a small fragment of the future, where these invaders died trying to touch her.
She, who was still a 12 year old girl, screamed at them saying that they will die if they touch her, the men laughed, they saw it as, the cry of a child,
The first unfortunate man got down from his horse, and approached to try to touch her, he marveled at her beauty, the man thought
- If she is this beautiful even as a child, what will she be like after a few more years? - His body trembled with emotion at the thought of her question.
Not holding back his desire, he caressed her face. The man waited a few seconds for the girl's misfortune to pass. He scoffed, nothing had happened, everyone else laughed loudly and the man who caressed her continued to act.
His great reckless act took its toll, as he was about to undress her, she died with a heart attack, she did not die on the spot, but suffered slowly. She raised her hand to her companions for help, but they thought she was acting, they laughed even more loudly.
After a few minutes of calling for help, he died. Despair, the man's face was full of his own fluids, his eyes red with tears and his nose full of mucus, was the last thing they all saw.
Little Eira was frightened, it was the first time she saw someone die in front of her eyes like this. All the riders stopped laughing, they realized that their companion had died, he did not answer their calls.
They looked at the little girl, and remembered what she had just said, they did not think about her warning and became enraged, they charged towards her, trying to kill her with the horses' legs.
The efforts of the bandits did not work, because he was interrupted by the fall of several of his companions, they fell off their horses, the leader observed how they were all touching their chests. He did not know what was happening.
He called to all the others who were looting, and ordered them to kill the girl. They all charged, some ran with their legs and others got on their horses to gallop faster towards her.
They met their end seconds later, they could not get close, some fell off the horses, dying on the spot, and others survived the fall, but then came a severe pain in their chest, and died.
The leader was horrified, no longer angry, his anger turned to fear.
- she's a witch! everybody run! - He did not wait for them to get organized, exerting force on his heels, he kicked the horse to accelerate.
Everyone heard their leader's shout, they didn't think twice before changing direction and escaping.
Sparing no one, they all died equally. Causing the little girl who was huddled, to stand up and see this hellish sight.
The few survivors watched from start to finish, fearfully shouting at Eira to leave town, threatening to kill her. She had no choice but to listen to them. With tears in her eyes, she ran off into the woods, weeping for the loss of her dead parents.