The Learn by Tony Halker

Author:Tony Halker [Anthony Halker]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781911110583
Publisher: Clink Street Publishing
Published: 2016-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seventeen

The Tests – Owayne’s Words

We are to live, eat and Learn in this holy place, endure and thrive or expose and feel our spirit whither and leave us.

We are twelve, six girls, six boys all fourteen to sixteen summers.

Seated on grass, a damp hillock with mossy cold rocks west of the stone circle, above the coast high on Conwy Mountain.

There are edges of high snow peaks visible to the south; dark and white in this hazy autumn light; cloudy, no sun reflections or glare, few colours, the mist has taken the spirits of light and brighter hues.

I hear scavenger birds, others cawing, we see few of them close.

East nestles a smaller stone circle with wooden barriers between upright guardian stones. The island of the priests and birds is visible near Mon where Druidii live in a round stone dwell eating only birds, that which the sea Gods throw up to them and sometimes offerings from those seeking help; I visited there with Merle and Mab a short time away by the sun, a long time measured by change and growth, by what has been put into me and shaken awake inside my head and heart.

Two hundred paces to the east where the slope rises are small round buildings with stone bases, sticks, wood, leaf making roofs that are overlain with large bales of cut cereals tied on with sinews, rough uneven ends showing in places where the wind has not taken them. These are dwell for both animals and people; there is fire, smoke and movement in a grey and gentle blow day, with winds coming across Mon to us. The hawthorn barriers to the east behind the stone rounds break the wind, reducing any noise. Birds fly and tweet. Two boys and one of the girls are arguing about what kind of birds they see, the eggs they give and how they nest. Swallows and Skylarks are pushed up by hastening wind spirits and play, riding the airs.

An eagle of the sea cliffs high overhead circling, watching down; too dark for a colour, too far to know if it has the white flash of the sea eagle that will dive for fish. Gulls flap moving further out towards the sea resting on an uplift of air, their noise drowning out the sense of other sounds.

Morwhena the Learner emerges doubled over from the nearest stone round dwell, she straightens coming towards us. A Druid she has opted to be a Learner to teach and develop others, prepare us for the test that values our study of the Learn to become priests, perhaps Druidii to be accepted by the people.

Light hair with flashes of red, not pure like so many others of her build and skin colour. A gift from the Gods, flicks of blood and sun. It is the copper colour, the red metal from nearby Mon that the spirits have trailed through her. She has bare feet, hardened by years on the mountain, but we know she has soft boots made from the skin of animals for use in ceremonies for the Gods.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.