“I-I remember.”
The Vaich dabbed the sweat from his face with a strip of cloth. “Your eyes… They’re white as ghosts. You really are a seir.”
The word lashed at him, but its truth stung most. He could no longer refuse what he had seen, and now he was certain what was coming.
“It is as I feared. These… giants… They landed many ere ago. Before Cullach as we know it. Before the dawn of sun and the great migrations. I have seen their return.”
The Vaich went still. He did not strike out. He did not recoil in anger. He simply bowed his head and said, “When?”
The druid paused. “You believe me?”
“I willnae deny the powers beyond me. If something wishes to speak through you, then I’ll hear it.”
Panic strummed his aching tendons. The Vaich’s willingness filled him with a sense of relief, and at the same time, a cold, biting dread.
“In the Naém, I saw the alignment of the Thae and moon. It marks a celestial event that occurs once every thousand years.”
“The Ísthmhach,” whispered the Vaich.
The druid nodded. “My people have recorded such phenomena over time, though nothing has ever come of the alignment but faerie stories and songs.”
“What makes this one different?”
“I do not know.” He frowned.
The Vaich sat back on his haunches, raking a hand through his hair. “And when this alignment happens, then what? Some great fell beasts will come for our land?”
“These creatures—the Muuirn, I suppose—they came before in hunger. What they wish is not to conquer. These are not men as we understand. What I feel in my blood when I see them I—” The druid trembled and at once the Vaich’s hands steadied him. They shared one timid look before the king pulled away.
“So, they dinnae mean to parley,” he muttered. “Then, did you succeed? Did you see how to defeat them?”
The vision of the silver woman filled his mind.
“Some spell… some magick.” He pressed his eyelids. “I have never seen such a thing. There was a woman… she…”
He had no words for what he had witnessed. A woman becoming a tree? It was absurd. Impossible. But he had seen it. He hadfeltit.
And it scared him.
“I am sorry.” He shuddered. “I don’t know.”
“Suppose it’ll be the old fashion way, then,” said the king, and his hopeful lilt was almost endearing. “Iron and blood.”
Images of that foul battlefield flashed in his mind. The Vaich stood amongst the carnage but the memory guttered. Could such a future be prevented? What were these dreams if not warnings? He had to believe there was some recourse, and yet the task seemed monumental.
“A force like that is beyond man’s skill,” he said. “It would take tens of thousands.”
“Then I will gather tens of thousands. Even if I’ve to crawl on my knees before every door in Cullach.”
The druid blinked at him, astonished. “Would you?”
“I am Vaich—it isnae just a title. What good is living forever, if all my country should perish? Nae, it is my duty to defend Cúil Cullach. And defend her I shall.”
“Then you shall not do it alone,” the druid said and the Vaich met his gaze.
“Aye?”
“The world will think it madness, and your men do not yet trust me, but the Oracle has seen my truth and they will listen to the Moon’s holy voice. So long as we can persuade it to work for us.”
