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Intermission: A Cimbri Story
Background: The Helvetti, The Sons of the Stag, are a powerful, warlike Cimbri people whose noble house has been plagued by foriegn powers medding in its succession of late.
About 50 years ago they nearly destroyed Tavia, had not the Credi (another Cimbri tribe) risen against them to stand with the humans.
This is a story of how the Helvetti came to the area around Tavia and how they came to supplant the former inhabitants of their land, another Cimbri people, the Saluri.
As you can tell, the Cimbri are often their own worst enemy...
Ronan’s Tale: The Death of the Saluri
The Helvetti followed the Great Stag from their old lands in the West to the borders of the great forest of the Saluri. There the great stag slew the largest buck of the wood and gathered a harem. So there the great Druid of the Helvetti said we should dwell.
But the Saluri were jealous of their hunting grounds and made war upon the Helvetti. And the two Cimbri peoples were locked in battle for many years, but the battles did not go well for the brave Helvetti at first.
The King of the Saulri, Cathal, was blessed by the gods and had 12 sons, but they were slain by the Helvetti. But in the spring his last wife game him a 13th son. Upon this child’s birth, the old King did not know what to do, the provender for his other son’s funerals took most of his wealth. He went to the crossroads near his rath and decided to foster the son upon whomever came first.
Herne the Hunter came by first, who already knew what filled Cathal’s heart, and said to him, poor man, I pity you. I will hold your child, and will take charge of it and make it happy on earth.
“No, you may not have it, you will turn my son against me as you favor my foes of the forest.”
Herne turned into a deer and sprang away into the wood.
Then a shining nobleman appeared on the road and the King to him said, “What do you seek?”
“If you will take me as a foster father for your child, I will give him gold in plenty and all the joys of the world as well.”
The man asked, “who are you?”
“I am the Dagda.’
“I do not desire to have you foster my son, said the man, you favor only rich Kings, and leave the poor ones to hunger.”
Then came a man all in gray riding upon on a white horse, with bells upon the bridal and he said, “Take me as foster father.’
Then Cathal asked, “Who are you?”
“I am Arawn, lord of death, and I make all equal.”
“Then said King Cathal, you are the right one, you take the rich as well as the poor, without distinction, you shall be foster father.”
Death answered, I will make your child rich and famous, for he who has me for a friend can lack nothing.”
The man said, “Come back in a year and a day and you shall have my son.”
“When the time was up the King gave Ronan, his son. to Grim Awran. And his foster father took him into the gray lands of Annoon. There he learned to hunt and fight from the best of the dead warriors. When he was a man he was returned to his father. And Ronan was a great warrior but the power of the Helvetti had grown, so still times were hard with old King Cathal
One day Death reappeared to Ronan and led him forth into a forest, and showed him a herb which grew there, and said, “Now you shall receive your foster father's present. I make you a celebrated healer. When you are called to a patient, I will always appear to you. If I stand by the head of the sick man, you may say with confidence that you will make him well again, and if you give him of this herb he will recover, but if I stand by the patient's feet, he is mine, and you must say that all remedies are in vain, and that no healer in the world could save him. But beware of using the herb against my will, or it might fare ill with you.”
It was not long before the youth was the most famous healer in all of the Cimbri lands. He had only to look at the patient and he knew his condition at once, whether he would recover, or must needs die. So they said of him, and from far and wide people came to him, sent for him when they had anyone ill, and gave him so much money that he soon became a rich man. Now it so befell that the king became ill, and the healer was summoned, and was to say if recovery were possible.
But when he came to the bed, death was standing by the feet of the sick man, and the herb did not grow which could save him. If I could but cheat death for once, thought the healer, he is sure to take it ill if I do but, as I am his godson, he will shut one eye, I will risk it.
He therefore took up his sick father, and laid him the other way, so that now death was standing by his head. Then he gave the king some of the herbs, and he recovered and grew healthy again. But death came to Ronan, looking very black and angry, threatened him with his finger, and said, “You have betrayed me, this time I will pardon it, as you are my godson, but if you venture it again, it will cost you your neck, for I will take you yourself away with me.
Soon afterwards the king's of the Credi’s daughter fell into a severe illness. She was his only child, and he wept day and night, so that he began to lose the sight of his eyes, and he caused it to be made known that whosoever rescued her from death should be her husband and inherit the his lands and Kingdom.
When Ronan heard of this he though it might be the salvation for his Father’s kingdom. The healer came to the sick girl's bed, he saw death by her feet. He ought to have remembered the warning given by his foster father, but he was so infatuated by the great beauty of the king's daughter, and the happiness of becoming her husband, that he flung all thought to the winds. He did not see that death was casting angry glances on him, that he was raising his hand in the air, and threatening him with his withered fist. He raised up the sick girl, and placed her head where her feet had lain. Then he gave her some of the herb, and instantly her cheeks flushed red, and life stirred afresh in her.
When Arawn saw that for a second time his own property had been misused, he walked up to the healer with long strides, and said, “All is over with you, and now the lot falls on you”. Awran seized him so firmly with his ice-cold hand, which he could not resist, and led him into a cave below the earth.
There Ronan saw how thousands and thousands of candles were burning in countless rows, some large, some medium-sized, others small. Every instant some were extinguished, and others again burnt up, so that the flames seemed to leap hither and thither in perpetual change.
“See,” said Death, “these are the lights of men's lives. The large ones belong to children, the medium-sized ones to married people in their prime, the little ones belong to old people, but children and young folks likewise have often only a tiny candle.”
“Show me the light of my life,” said Ronan, and he thought that it would be still very tall. Death pointed to a little end that was just threatening to go out, and said, “behold, it is there.”
“Ah, dear foster father,” said the horrified healer, “light a new one for me, do it for love of me, that I may enjoy my life, be king of two peoples, and the husband of the king's beautiful daughter.”
“I cannot,” answered Arawn, “one must go out before a new one is lit.”
“Then place the old one on a new one, that will go on burning at once when the old one has come to an end,” pleaded the healer. “I will show you.”
The young man grabbed is small candle, but as he was to place it upon the new, the wax burnt his fingers and he dropped it, and was extinguished. Immediately Ronan fell on the ground, and now he himself was in the hands of death.
And so was the wisdom of the Saluri. And so their light went out of the world.
fin
..with apologies to the Brothers' Grimm
Background: The Helvetti, The Sons of the Stag, are a powerful, warlike Cimbri people whose noble house has been plagued by foriegn powers medding in its succession of late.
About 50 years ago they nearly destroyed Tavia, had not the Credi (another Cimbri tribe) risen against them to stand with the humans.
This is a story of how the Helvetti came to the area around Tavia and how they came to supplant the former inhabitants of their land, another Cimbri people, the Saluri.
As you can tell, the Cimbri are often their own worst enemy...
Ronan’s Tale: The Death of the Saluri
The Helvetti followed the Great Stag from their old lands in the West to the borders of the great forest of the Saluri. There the great stag slew the largest buck of the wood and gathered a harem. So there the great Druid of the Helvetti said we should dwell.
But the Saluri were jealous of their hunting grounds and made war upon the Helvetti. And the two Cimbri peoples were locked in battle for many years, but the battles did not go well for the brave Helvetti at first.
The King of the Saulri, Cathal, was blessed by the gods and had 12 sons, but they were slain by the Helvetti. But in the spring his last wife game him a 13th son. Upon this child’s birth, the old King did not know what to do, the provender for his other son’s funerals took most of his wealth. He went to the crossroads near his rath and decided to foster the son upon whomever came first.
Herne the Hunter came by first, who already knew what filled Cathal’s heart, and said to him, poor man, I pity you. I will hold your child, and will take charge of it and make it happy on earth.
“No, you may not have it, you will turn my son against me as you favor my foes of the forest.”
Herne turned into a deer and sprang away into the wood.
Then a shining nobleman appeared on the road and the King to him said, “What do you seek?”
“If you will take me as a foster father for your child, I will give him gold in plenty and all the joys of the world as well.”
The man asked, “who are you?”
“I am the Dagda.’
“I do not desire to have you foster my son, said the man, you favor only rich Kings, and leave the poor ones to hunger.”
Then came a man all in gray riding upon on a white horse, with bells upon the bridal and he said, “Take me as foster father.’
Then Cathal asked, “Who are you?”
“I am Arawn, lord of death, and I make all equal.”
“Then said King Cathal, you are the right one, you take the rich as well as the poor, without distinction, you shall be foster father.”
Death answered, I will make your child rich and famous, for he who has me for a friend can lack nothing.”
The man said, “Come back in a year and a day and you shall have my son.”
“When the time was up the King gave Ronan, his son. to Grim Awran. And his foster father took him into the gray lands of Annoon. There he learned to hunt and fight from the best of the dead warriors. When he was a man he was returned to his father. And Ronan was a great warrior but the power of the Helvetti had grown, so still times were hard with old King Cathal
One day Death reappeared to Ronan and led him forth into a forest, and showed him a herb which grew there, and said, “Now you shall receive your foster father's present. I make you a celebrated healer. When you are called to a patient, I will always appear to you. If I stand by the head of the sick man, you may say with confidence that you will make him well again, and if you give him of this herb he will recover, but if I stand by the patient's feet, he is mine, and you must say that all remedies are in vain, and that no healer in the world could save him. But beware of using the herb against my will, or it might fare ill with you.”
It was not long before the youth was the most famous healer in all of the Cimbri lands. He had only to look at the patient and he knew his condition at once, whether he would recover, or must needs die. So they said of him, and from far and wide people came to him, sent for him when they had anyone ill, and gave him so much money that he soon became a rich man. Now it so befell that the king became ill, and the healer was summoned, and was to say if recovery were possible.
But when he came to the bed, death was standing by the feet of the sick man, and the herb did not grow which could save him. If I could but cheat death for once, thought the healer, he is sure to take it ill if I do but, as I am his godson, he will shut one eye, I will risk it.
He therefore took up his sick father, and laid him the other way, so that now death was standing by his head. Then he gave the king some of the herbs, and he recovered and grew healthy again. But death came to Ronan, looking very black and angry, threatened him with his finger, and said, “You have betrayed me, this time I will pardon it, as you are my godson, but if you venture it again, it will cost you your neck, for I will take you yourself away with me.
Soon afterwards the king's of the Credi’s daughter fell into a severe illness. She was his only child, and he wept day and night, so that he began to lose the sight of his eyes, and he caused it to be made known that whosoever rescued her from death should be her husband and inherit the his lands and Kingdom.
When Ronan heard of this he though it might be the salvation for his Father’s kingdom. The healer came to the sick girl's bed, he saw death by her feet. He ought to have remembered the warning given by his foster father, but he was so infatuated by the great beauty of the king's daughter, and the happiness of becoming her husband, that he flung all thought to the winds. He did not see that death was casting angry glances on him, that he was raising his hand in the air, and threatening him with his withered fist. He raised up the sick girl, and placed her head where her feet had lain. Then he gave her some of the herb, and instantly her cheeks flushed red, and life stirred afresh in her.
When Arawn saw that for a second time his own property had been misused, he walked up to the healer with long strides, and said, “All is over with you, and now the lot falls on you”. Awran seized him so firmly with his ice-cold hand, which he could not resist, and led him into a cave below the earth.
There Ronan saw how thousands and thousands of candles were burning in countless rows, some large, some medium-sized, others small. Every instant some were extinguished, and others again burnt up, so that the flames seemed to leap hither and thither in perpetual change.
“See,” said Death, “these are the lights of men's lives. The large ones belong to children, the medium-sized ones to married people in their prime, the little ones belong to old people, but children and young folks likewise have often only a tiny candle.”
“Show me the light of my life,” said Ronan, and he thought that it would be still very tall. Death pointed to a little end that was just threatening to go out, and said, “behold, it is there.”
“Ah, dear foster father,” said the horrified healer, “light a new one for me, do it for love of me, that I may enjoy my life, be king of two peoples, and the husband of the king's beautiful daughter.”
“I cannot,” answered Arawn, “one must go out before a new one is lit.”
“Then place the old one on a new one, that will go on burning at once when the old one has come to an end,” pleaded the healer. “I will show you.”
The young man grabbed is small candle, but as he was to place it upon the new, the wax burnt his fingers and he dropped it, and was extinguished. Immediately Ronan fell on the ground, and now he himself was in the hands of death.
And so was the wisdom of the Saluri. And so their light went out of the world.
fin
..with apologies to the Brothers' Grimm
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