Wandering Souls

An English assignment that turned out to be really fun.

Chapter 1

 

Wandering.  All the young woman ever seemed to do now was wander.  The amulets heavy weight seemed to be the only thing that kept her sane.  To be kept away from you love for a few years is torturous enough, but to have no clue whether you’ll see them again is total agony.

Lasair, the thought of the man nearly brought her to tears.  Every day she walked her lonely path, wishing he were there, knowing he could not be.  Not unless forgiveness could be proven divine in the eyes of the gods.

This was Celeste’s punishment, her quest; to roam the earth in search of her love, traveling with the night.  And it was all because she chose Selene over the love goddess.  Don’t think about that, she thought, clutching the amulet.  It was a chain of pure silver, three vines wrapped around each other, held together by magic.  The stone was pure emerald and was about the size of her palm.  It was blessed by Selene, her goddess, and gave her strength, as well as holding her magic.

At least my goddess has not left me alone, she thought.  Celeste may have had to travel with the night, but at least she was allowed companions.  For this she rejoiced.  Her companions were her friend Cliodhna, and two young men who were strong and friendly.  Their names were Arioch and Asher.  They were playful and protective, just right for this trip.  They sometimes reminded Celeste of Lasair, her love, so much that she had to walk away and cry.  But they were like brothers to her, and she, a sister to them.

On a happier note, they were her encouragers.  When it seemed Celeste could walk no more for sorrow they cheered her, they gave her hope.  One of their favorite ways to do this was to ask her to sing for them.

“Daughter of Dusk, Celeste, sing for us dear friend.” said Asher.  The title made her smile, but not so much as the request. She had been aching to free her voice in song, but had wanted to be asked.

“What shall I sing of, Asher?” she asked, her eyes turning crystal blue, like ice.

“Sing the song of night!” requested Arioch.

“Oh, yes, please Celeste, do sing that one!” begged Cliodhna.

“Alright, if the Moon goddess wishes it.” said Celeste.  At this they all laughed, for they knew that the goddess loved to hear her sing.  That, along with her beauty and battle prowess, was why Selene had wanted her, of all people.

So Celeste sang as they walked, her voice carrying through the clear night air, accompanied by the howl of the wolves as they cried out to the beauteous Selene.  The music was eerily beautiful with a haunting Gaelic melody, and the forest around them seemed to be in a trance.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, standing in the light of the sun was Lasair.  He was pacing by the shore of a lake, worrying about his hunters.  Annwn, his second in command, had come back with her bow and arrow held taught in her hands, ready to shoot the first thing that came at her.  The fear in her eyes showed bright like gold.  A daemon had attacked them while they were tracking elk.  They had been so attuned to the heard, that the daemon easily snuck up on them.  At first, he seemed like a faerie, but then he spoke.  His voice was filled with the evil of the Dark Lands, and his eyes shone with a black light.  Cuchulainn was the first to speak to him, for he was very brave and was leading this particular hunting party.

“What business have you with us?” Cuchulainn asked.

“I seek the one called Lasair. My lady wishes to speak with him privately.” the daemon answered.

“We know nothing of this man Lasair. We are merely a group of traveling hunters.  We know no man other than those we meet in the forest, and we only speak to them for a short time before we move on.  So if you’ll excuse us, we must get back to the hunt.”  This came from the mouth of Finn Mac Cumhail., Cuchulainn’s brother.  He was the first to fall.

“Liar!!!” the daemon screamed, sending out a pulse of dark fire to strike Finn Mac Cumhail.  “You are Lasair’s men; surely you know where he is.  Take me to him that I may take him to my master!!!!!”

“Never!” yelled the hunting party, taking up arms against the daemon.  He laughed a deep maniacal laugh and took up his own weapons.  But the fight seemed hopeless.  Where the sharp metal of their weapons struck his skin, they could find no purchase.  His flesh seemed to be made of metal itself.  Then he began to strike the hunters, chanting in the language of the Dark Lands.  Dimste, servant of the Earth goddess, and Annwn, servant of the goddess of the Hunt, ran to warn Lanais. Balor, servant of one of the water gods, also came back, bringing news of the battle.

The news brought much weeping and wailing.  Four of the hunt were killed by the daemon before the sun god had mercy on them and burned the daemon.

That evening, as the sun began to set, the remaining hunters had a funeral pyre lit.  They called to the goddess of death and sang of their newly dead friends.  Cuchulainn was lost, burned to ashes by the black fire, as he tried to save his brother.  His brother shared the same death. Their ashes were scattered by the god of wind.  Mimir and Macha were two brave women who served the god of war.  Their necks had been slit with poisonous knifes and their bodies mutilated by poisonous claws.  Dimste had buried them.  They had all fought bravely and had left their fair share of marks when they realized that magic could penetrate the daemons skin.  Were it not for them, the whole hunt would have died.

When everyone finally quieted down, they sat around the pyre and thought of all the brave deeds of their friends.  They sat there until the fire began to die.  When the fire took its last breaths, and the coals could spark no more, the hunters said their final good byes, and then went to sleep.

 

Chapter 2

            As time traveled forward, lost in her ever changing paths, Celeste and Cliodhna began to tire.

            “Arioch, Asher, couldn’t we rest a while?” Cliodhna asked.

            “Yes please, Cliodhna and I are growing weary.” Celeste begged.

            “Of course ladies, we wouldn’t want you to fall and bruise yourselves, or get you beautiful dresses dirty.” Arioch answered.  He seemed to be talking to both of the girls, but his green eyes were locked with Cliodhna’s blue ones.  Cliodhna giggled.

            “Thank you.” she said, smiling.   She turned to Celeste, “I’ll go set up our tents.”

            “No, let me do that for you,” offered Arioch.

“No, I insist,” smiled Cliodhna.

“Well, what if we put them up together?”

“Alright, Celeste can you go help Asher tie up the food?” Cliodhna asked.

“Of course I can,” Celeste responded.  She smiled and said, “Come along Asher,” who was staring at Arioch in confusion.

When they had found a suitable tree, and a suitable branch, Asher climbed it with the bag of food in his hands.

            “What was all that about?” he asked. “Cliodhna always sets up the tents while Arioch helps me and you pray to the moon goddess.  Why change this now?”

Celeste shook her head, a smile on her face.  “Can’t you see? The love goddess has laid her spell on them.  Give them some time so they can embrace it.”

“Arioch, my brother in spirit, has fallen in love with Cliodhna?  Well at least it makes sense.  The love goddess can choose some strange people for her spells.  I just can’t believe he’s fallen.”

“Believe it.  Even I believe it, though I have many a reason to suspect the love goddess of trickery.”

“You miss him dearly don’t you?  Lasair, I mean.” Asher asked, looking towards the forest floor.

“I do,” Celeste answered. “More than you could ever know, unless it happened to you, goddess forbid that it should.”

“A long time ago, he came to me in a dream.  He told me to tell you he loves you and to tell you to never forget that he loves you.”  Asher whispered.  “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you until now.  You were so upset and I feared to upset you more.  Please forgive me.”

Celeste was afraid to answer, for she was holding back tears.  To answer would mean to cry, and to cry was to show weakness.  She had to be strong, how else would she survive this torture?

A sudden flow of warmth seeped into her heart from her amulet.  She found strength welling up inside of her.  “I forgive you,” she said softly.  “Thank you for telling me now.  Please hurry though, for I would like to get to sleep soon.”

Asher finished tying the bag and they went back to camp, where Cliodhna and Arioch were sitting by the fire, their hands intertwined, talking and laughing.

“Goodnight,” Celeste called to them, heading toward her tent.

“Goodnight Celeste,” they called back, with a soft echo from Asher.

Celeste fell asleep to her own quiet sobbing and the remembered sound of a lullaby Lasair used to sing to her, whispering “Lasair, oh, I miss you Lasair.”

Even in her dreams, Celeste was sobbing, liquid grief pouring from her eyes.  It’s not fair, it’s just not fair!!!  She thought, over and over.

“Peace be with you child,” a soft, comforting voice whispered.  “All will be well in time.”

Celeste looked up to see Selene standing before her, peering down with the caring, knowing, eyes of a mother.

“My goddess,” Celeste cried kneeling at Selene’s feet.  “Why have you come?”

“My dear child, a mother always comes to her children when they have need of her.”  Selene smiled, opening her arms to embrace Celeste.  “You needed me, you needed comfort.”

Celeste threw herself into the arms of the goddess, crying into her shoulder.  “Thank you goddess, thank you for being here for me.”

When Celeste was through sobbing, she stepped back from the goddess and looked around.  They were standing in a field, with night hung like a curtain around them.  The moon stared down at them from the night sky and back at Celeste from Selene’s eyes.  Celeste and Selene looked very much alike.  They both had hair as black as midnight.  Selene’s eyes were silver and bright like the moon; Celeste’s were too, at times. Her eyes could also be blue or green, but were a mixture of the three most of the time.  Both had pale, milky skin, but the goddess’s skin was luminous like the stars.  The goddess’s features were sharp and beautiful, her movements flowing like light.  Celestas features were softer, her movements more like the sinuous and graceful wolf.  Both were tall and thin.   Selene wore a white gown of soft silky fabric.  It had long, full sleeves that draped down from her hands.  The bodice clung to her slightly, falling into a full skirt at the hips that extended all the way to the ground.  Celeste’s gown was similar, but much more like a shift.  It was silver, with long sleeves that clung to her wrists and arms, going halfway down her hand in a v-shape.  Her bodice also clung to her, falling into a skirt at the hips, but her skirt only came halfway down her calves.  Her feet were in boots of deer skin, extending up her calves, while the goddess was barefoot.  Both Selene and Celeste’s outfits showed off their slender and delicate looking forms.

The sound of the goddess speaking brought her eyes back to Selene’s face.

“Daughter of Duck, Servant and Defender of the Moon, Sorceress of the Night; these are some of you names to the world.  Embrace them, for they are as much you name as Celeste is.   Now, listen, tomorrow as you travel, two things will happen.  The first is that the forest will turn to jungle.  The second is that you will meet two wanderers.

“When the first happens, tell Asher that he should lead the way through the jungle.  He will eagerly comply.  He will soon find a stream near a circular clearing in the center of the jungle.  He will say that it’s a good place to stay and set up camp.  Tell him that you can rest there for a while, but you must move on.

“When you come across the wanderers, welcome them.  There shall be a woman named Morrigan, and a man named Lir.  Morrigan serves the goddess of animals.  She will be a great friend to you and a lover to Asher.  Lir, Morrigan’s brother, is a temperamental servant of the god of fire.  Beware of his tricks and lies.  He will try to make you his lover, but you must remember you Lasair.

“Now goodbye child, it’s time for you to wake”

 

Chapter 3

            The blood was everywhere.  Macha was there, off to the side, telling Lasair that what was coming was only a dream.

It was a nightmare.  Celeste was crying in the arms of a silver-eyed woman with sharp features that were so like Celeste’s.  Selene, he thought.  She turned and smiled at him.  “Remember Lasair, remember Celeste,” and he did.

He remembered holding her in his arms, embracing her, protecting her, fighting for her.  He remembered the fierce light in her eyes as she hunted her prey and as she defended him.  He remembered the beauty of her every movement, her strength, her cunning.  He remembered the sound of her breath as she embraced him, the feel of her pulse as they kissed.  But most of all, he remembered the night she had been attacked by the love goddess, the night they had had to part ways.

He had found her lying on the ground in a clearing, her life blood draining away, soaking her dress and the ground around her.  He remembered the soft halo of silver moonlight that encircled her, healing her, protecting her.  He remembered that it wasn’t just protecting her from her attacker; it separated her from him, protecting her from him.  Soft words floated through the air, in an irresistible voice, but the words were a prophecy that was anything but.

Lasair screamed and then he woke up.

He walked out of his tent and plunged into the forest.  And then he ran.

Where he was running to was a mystery to him.  He was just compelled to run, and run, and run.  The darkness of night seemed to be closing in around him.  How could I forget about Celeste?  How could I forget?!?

His answer came to him in the form of a dark, pulsing light, like a star that had somehow decayed.

“I made you forget,” the light said.  “Death erases all memories.  I can choose which ones are erased in the living, when they are near me, near death.”  The smoky voice, feminine, but a little deeper than most women, seemed to change the rotting star, giving it the shape of a woman.  She still pulsed with dark light.  “I am Death, the goddess of eternal darkness.  I choose you to serve me.”

Lasair stared at the goddess in shock.  Her hair was as black as coals charred by the fire, her eyes obsidian and older than time itself.  Her features were soft and sensual.  She wore a dress the color of black ebony that clung to every curve she had, without showing any skin.  It was long sleeved, full skirted, and high necked, and still he wanted her.

To lie with Death is to become a slave to Death, a voice chastised in his head; it was Selene’s voice, echoed by Celeste, and to her eternal sisters:  Chaos and Destruction.

“Oh, don’t listen to them,” Death smiled, “they know nothing of me.”

A mutual laugh echoed in his head.  Lasair, we’ve both been close to Death before, Selene and Celeste thought, we know what she’s like.

“Oh to be near me for but a moment is not to know who I am,” said Death.  “Neither of you stayed with me long enough to know me.”

You don’t hide who you are to us, Selene and Celeste said, we see through all of your disguises.

“Surely you do, but I can have another side, can’t I?”

“No.”

“Lasair, don’t listen to them, come with me,” Death said, a smile on her face.

“You daemon ruling witch,” Celeste snarled, “He belongs to me!”

It was Death’s turn to laugh now, “Ha, he’s yours is he?  Then why aren’t you here?  That’s not very fair to him, is it?  Running away, then saying he can’t be with anyone else.  He deserves better than that.  He deserves better than you.”

Anger welled up in Lasair.  His own anger mixed with Selene’s fury and Celeste’s rage and hurt.

“how dare you talk to her that way!  It’s not her fault that a goddess has come between us!  The goddess of love was angered with her, and separated us.  I still belong to her as much as she belongs to me!”

Joy and guilt flooded his mind from Celeste at this and approval from Selene.  But that joy turned to fear when the death goddess’s gaze twisted into a glare.

“You will regret this!”  she yelled, the strange, black light pulsing in quick, powerful flashes now.  “You’ll pay for this rejection!”  Then the black light was all around Lasair, smothering him.  The death goddess was sighing, crooning a lullaby.  A soft glow penetrated the black haze, giving him air to breath.

“Hold on a moment longer,” Selene said, Celeste echoing her again.  “He’ll be here soon.”

Lasair was just about to ask who when a blinding white light surrounded him.  The death goddess shrieked.  The light lowered and there stood the sun god.

“Death, unhand this man who belongs to the light,” he whispered.

A mutual gasp from Lasair and Death was all that was heard.  Then there was a giggle in his head.

“Lasair, I come to offer you a choice.  You can serve Death…or me.  I have seen your bravery, and the light in your soul.  It is bright and warm and life giving.  The only darkness comes from the loss of Celeste and your friends.  I can’t help you get your friends back, but I can help you find Celeste.  So, who do you choose?”

Death stared at him, suddenly appealing again.  There was a sigh in his head and then she seemed to change.  Her hair was lank and greasy, falling out in clumps.  Her skin was rotting, with mold clinging to it, hoping for nourishment.  Her teeth had fallen our long ago and her lips were swollen with decomposition.  The curves that had seemed to luxurious only moments ago, had become sagging pieces of flesh that were hanging off her body as if they would fall at any moment to the ground.  Her eyes were dead, flat black, like the darkness of sleep.  And standing beside her was an army of daemons.

“she didn’t change, she’s been like this all along behind a glamour.  You just couldn’t see it.  If a person is chosen they can see through glamours.  And the sun gods children see more than most.”  Celeste said, alone again, “I can’t tell you who to choose, but you need to know that you basically become like what you choose.  Would you rather be death or light?”

Lasair made a decision then.

He chose the light of the sun god.

Before he could speak, the light reached for him.  A whisper echoed in his head, the words “I love you” and then he couldn’t feel Celeste there or eve Selene.  But suddenly, it didn’t matter.  This light wasn’t dark and smothering or cool or calming like the lights of death and the moon; this light was warm and welcoming.  It made him feel like a son coming home to his father after a long journey.  He shivered from the pleasure of it, then embraced it.  Something warm was placed on his forefinger, but he wouldn’t notice this until later.

Then he opened his eyes.  The death goddess and her army were still there.  And Lasair was suddenly very angry.  This corpse had repeatedly wiped his memory of his love and then disgraced her!  She had to pay for that!  Later, Lasair wouldn’t know if it was the sun god that told him what to do, or if instinct had driven him to do what he did next.  He raised his hand, said “The darkness of death cannot stand the light, for the light rebukes it!”  A pure, white light shot at Death.  She screamed as it tore through her arm, then hit two of her daemons.  Ichor, the blood of the immortal, flowed to the ground and then Death was gone and her army fled.  All that was left was the putrid ichor and the ashes of the daemons.  Seeing this, Lasair walked back to camp.

 

Chapter 4

In the clearing by the stream, in the middle of the jungle, Celeste sat up; she prayed a silent prayer of thanks for Selene, and then she told Asher it was time to go.

Everything that day had gone according to Selene’s word so far.  The forest had turned to jungle and Asher was leading them without hesitation.  When they got to the clearing, Celeste had done as Selene had told her, then laid to rest in the grass.  As she laid there, Selene came to her and told her that Lasair was in danger.  All of a sudden, Celeste was in Lasair’s mind, seeing what he saw, as he saw it, and yet seeing it also as she would were she there beside him.  A beautiful woman was talking to him, or at least that was what he saw.  Celeste saw that the woman was a corpse, rotting away, and she knew that this was Death herself.  Selene was there, telling her to relax, but Lasair could only hear what was through towards him, or Death.

So, she and Selene helped save him from Death, watched him choose the Light over Death, and then they were banished from his thoughts.

Now, Celeste was walking through the jungle with Asher in front of her, and Arioch walking with Cliodhna behind her.  Despite them being there, she felt alone.  Her amulet sent a warm, comforting wave throughout her, but the ache of loneliness was only dulled.  Selene gave her a soft comforting beam of moonlight to walk under, but still, the loneliness ached deep inside her.

“Turn around, my child,” Selene whispered.  Celeste turned, and there stood Selene; her beautiful black hair whipping around her shoulders.  She radiated an aura of peace and calm, with an equal dosage of power.  Arioch, Cliodhna, and Asher all turned to stare at her.

“Go back the way you came.  You will find the one you seek if you turn and walk back.  So will you, Asher.  Those who search for love shall always find it,” Selene smiled and then she disappeared.

“So, shall we return around Asher?”  asked Celeste, hope in her heart and tears in her eyes.

“We shall,” he answered.  “Let’s start now.”

Lasair coming into camp seemed to wake everyone up.

Balor rushed out of his tenet, knife in hand, only to drop it with a look of confusion.  Annwn walked up behind Balor, fear in her eyes as she clutched Balor’s arm.  Dimste walked out of her tent, eyes alert, and cautious, then surprised, warm, and welcoming.

“Where have you been Lasair, for surely you have not changed so much in your sleep?”  asked Dimste, walking towards him and smiling.

“I went for a walk.  I met the sun god and the death goddess along the way.  Let’s just say the death goddess ran from the light,” he smiled tiredly.  “I must sleep now.  Relax and go back to your tents.  Good night.”

As he spoke the fear in Annwn’s eyes turned to understanding, and the confusion in Balor’s face turned to a mixture of joy and knowledge.  Dimste’s welcome attitude bore a flash of anger, gone as quickly as it had come.  Lasair was too tired to notice or care.  He walked toward his tenet.  The slight, padded sound of a woman’s footsteps followed his.  He turned to see Dimste walking with him.  She was looking down at the ground then up at his face, then down at the ground again, then up at his face again.

“What is I that you are so nervous about Dimste?”  He asked her, tired yet patient.

“Well, I’m worried about you,” she answered.  “You’ve seemed so distant lately, and now you’ve met Death.  I’m glad she didn’t take you, and that you belong to the sun god now, but surely you must need some company.  It’s not good for you to be alone.  Might I give you some company tonight?”  Her rambling finished, Dimste was suddenly very interested in a flower growing not far from where her feet were planted.

“Dimste,”  Lasair said softly, “you are beautiful and kind.  I admit that it is not good for me to be alone, but you are like a sister to me.  My heart belongs to another.  I’m sorry.”

She looked up then, tears in her eyes as well as hurt.  “I understand,” she whispered.  “I’m sorry, I’m going to go back to my tent now.”  She turned and nearly ran back to her tent, her tears falling to the ground and growing the blue, droopy flower know as Misery.

 

Chapter 5

Lasair turned and was shocked to see the sun god standing before him.  Something around his finger began to glow and warmth seeped through him.  Only then did he notice his ring.  It was a gold band with a bright red stone, especially made to fit him, a child of the sun god.

“Lasair, rest.  You must sleep my son, then march forward.  Soon you will find her, I promise you this.  I must warn you though, there will be much pain when you find her.  Someone seeks to own her heart.”

And then the god, dim for the nighttime, disappeared.

Not long after they started walking backwards Celeste and her group encountered the traveler’s Selene told them about.  Asher and Morrigan immediately took to each other.  Lir, of course, walked with Celeste.

“You seem so far away, “ he said.  “What are you thinking of?

Celeste was thinking that Lir looked too much like Lasair.  His hair was as dark as the night, like her’s and Lasair’s.  His eyes were the same emerald color that Lasair’s was, coincidentally matching her amulet.  He was tall with sharp features and grace like a mountain lion, just like Lasair.  It was eerily annoying, yet slightly comforting.

“I was merely thinking of the reason for this journey,” Celeste replied.

“Why go on this journey?  You seem so alone,” he answered her.  “Surely, you must need a man’s company.  I would be glad to help you in any way I can.”

Celeste looked at Lir, who was staring at her.  Their eyes locked, only for a moment, but Celeste had to look away.  A sad smile crossed her face.

“I go on this journey in search of my love.  The only man I ever could love.  You are so like him, I wonder if you could be the brother he lost.”

“I could be,” he answered bitterly.  “When I was young, I was taken from my family.  The people who took me told me I looked just like my brother.  I hated them for it.”

Celeste and Lir talked the rest of the night.  Lir hinted more than once that he wanted her.  When they got to the clearing where Selene had warned Celeste about Lasair, they decided to make camp.  Morrigan and Lir didn’t have any tents, so Asher offered to let Morrigan have his.  “But you’d be cold out here in the open,” she objected. “No, I’m used to the cold, I’d much rather you have the tent.”

“I insist that you have my tent,” Asher replied.  “I’ll gladly sleep outside.”

“No, it’s your tent and I won’t have you out of it,” Morrigan stubbornly insisted.

This went on for quite a while.

“Well, we’ll get no sleep if we stay up and argue about this.  We could share the tent,” Asher tentatively suggested, looking at his feet.

Morrigan smiled and took his hand.  “As long as you’re in the tent, I’ll happily sleep there,” she whispered.  Asher looked up and smiled.

“We’re going to share a tent as well,” smiled Cliodhna, looking at Arioch.  He smiled back at her, their eyes locked on each other.  “Lir can use my tent if he wishes.”

“Actually, I’d rather share one with Celeste, if that’s ok with her,” Lir said.  Asher turned around to see what Celeste would say to this.

“No, I’d rather not Lir,” Celeste answered.  “My tent shall be shared by no man, unless he is my love, Lasair,” and with that she walked to her tent and lay down.

Lir must have walked toward the tent, because then she heard Asher say, “You heard Celeste, she doesn’t want you in her tent.  Cliodhna’s tent is the other way.  You can sleep there or not, I don’t care.  But you will not go into Celeste’s tent, or Death will come to you.  Whether it be by me, Celeste, or Lasair himself, you will die.  Goodnight.”

Then Celeste fell asleep.  She dreamed of Lasair, walking nearer to her with the sun god’s guidance.  She also noticed a beautiful woman of the earth watching him as if she were as mesmerized by the sight of Lasair and his newly streaked hair as Celeste was.

 

Chapter 6

The day passed by in his lazy way, and night quickly come so she could take his place.  Dusk found Celeste waking, and Lasair trying to find a camp site.

Both heard again the words they had heard when the love goddess attacked Celeste.

“Love’s anger, violent, bittersweet,

Drives lover from lover

In a curse hard to beat

Two wandering souls

Pain grows in their hearts

So they no longer feel whole

The two young lovers shall not reunite

Until love can forgive

And recants of her spite”

Celeste urged her group of friends and guests to wake up and get moving, while Lasair urged his hunters forward.  Hope found her way into both of their hearts, and they traveled with a zeal they hadn’t had since the beginning of their journey.

When Celeste saw him, she stopped, feeling as if her heart was about to explode.  He had changed.  He was taller, and had a much more muscular build, along with the gold streaks in his hair.  But these changes were not what stopped her.  Not far behind him was the earth woman.

Lasair turned to her and said, “Dimste, do you heart that?  Someone is coming.”  And then Dimste saw her.

Hatred filled her, a rage like she’d never felt before.  Dimste had tried to woo him, tried to take him from her, she knew it.

Celeste stepped forward and said, “Step away from him.  Now.”

Dimste was furious at the sound of the woman’s voice.  Lasair’s head turned, and a loving light filled his eye.  This was her, his lover, the Celeste he spoke of in his dreams.  And she’d just commanded Dimste to step away from him.  Dimste shrieked in rage, and then she jumped at Celeste.

The man tried to jump in front of Celeste at the same moment Lasair did.  Instead they crashed into each other, and Celeste began to fight Dimste.  Lasair looked at the man, who stared back at him furiously.  The man looked exactly like Lasair did himself.  Then Lasair saw him as a child, then standing by Celeste.  And Lasair understood.  This was hi lost brother Lir, and he wanted Celeste for himself.

At the same moment Lir saw recognition flash in the other man’s eyes, he realized who this man must be.  This must be Lasair, the lover of Celeste and his possible brother.  And yet he’d stopped Lir from saving Celeste.  For that he deserved to die.  Lir snorted and charged Lasair.

Celeste was too busy fighting Dimste to stop Lasair and Lir from fighting.  But she could warn the other people around to back off.  This was, in a way, a territorial fight.  It was customary that these were to be fought only between those having the dispute.

“Don’t get involved!”  Celeste yelled.  “This is strictly between us!”

Celeste handled her knife expertly, but Dimste was no slouch with her own.  Then again, she was a hunter.  Both began chanting, using offensive and defensive spells.  Someone was going to fall soon, but Celeste wasn’t so sure it would be Dimste.

Lasair was fighting as hard as he could, calling on the light of the Sun god for help.  Lir was a good warrior, and fought with incredible strength.  He chanted away to the god of fire, calling up his own strength.  Every now and then, one of them would lose their focus, anxiously checking on Celeste.  Suddenly, Lasair saw Celeste’s knife flash out at Lir.  He turned, shocked.  Blood flowed from his arm, and then Celeste slashed her knife straight up Dimste’s midsection, a second before Dimste did the same.  They both fell to the ground.

“Stop!!!” a voice thundered as a sudden rain burst through the clouds.  Celeste, laying on the ground, bleeding as she had that fateful night, looked around to see Cliodhna stepping forward.  She looked inhumanly beautiful, and her bracelet with the stone of sapphire glowed brilliantly.  She spoke, but her voice was not her own.  It was the voice of Cliodhna’s Water goddess, speaking through Cliodhna.  “Can’t you see what you’ve done to each other?”  she asked.  “The love goddess has mercy on you and finally forgives you and all you can think of is vengeance?”

Then Cliodhna herself spoke, “Lasir, help Celeste.  She is greatly wounded.  Lir, you should go help Dimste.  Look into her eyes.  You belong with her.”

And then Lasair was there, singing the lullaby that had been haunting her.  Selene healed her, and Lasair picked her up and held her.  Celeste lay in Lasair’s lap, her head on his chest, and she felt whole.  She felt a peace she never thought she’d know.  Celeste clung to Lasair, and just let go of all the pain she’d felt.  Her amulet glowed, as did his ring, and they themselves began to glow.

“The love goddess has forgiven me,” Celeste whispered.  And the sun and the moon shone in the same sky, together at last.

Author's Note

I know it needs to be expanded on, but what do you think of it? Any ideas on how to flesh it out?