Shuffled: When the Cards Talk You Must Listen

Chapter 17 Bainbourn Magic (working title)

I walked into my room and even though I knew I had some Algebra to finish. Even though I knew I should keep working on my Creative Writing assignment I was drawn to the place where I'd hidden those two books.

I sat down on my bed and forced myself through the algebra. I'm sure I got at least half wrong because it was starting to feel like I was being physically pulled toward those books. I couldn't think of anything else but reading those books. The stories in them were the best I've ever read. They seemed to be a collection of random fantasy shorts. There were flying dragons, with brave knights riding them to go save the princess.

My favorite so far was It told all about this dragon princess Tanwen, she was this blazing white dragon that breathed white fire when she roared. She would streak through the air spewing white fire across the sky just for fun as she loop-de-looped and rolled through the clouds. She was playful and fun. She loved her family and the land she lived in and the mountains that her clan called their own. She was friends with the fae that lived in and around her mountain, and she played with them every chance she got.

She never really wanted to grow up, and lucky for her she didn't have to. Well not for a long time. Dragons are one of the longest lived races, and what seems like lifetimes to many are mere seconds for the dragons. Tanwen was the youngest of the Dragon Royalty, her Parents were not the King or Queen because her Great-great-great-great grandma still reigned as sovereign. No one really cared how long it took for in their area of the world peace was widespread. Or at least that's what Tanwen thought.

And that's as far as I got that one night and I was itching to go back and finish the story.

Finally after struggling for over an hour I gave up. Threw my pencil and calculator across my bed and slammed my Algebra book closed, and made a bee-line to the cubby I'd hidden them in. I swear I felt a tingling up my arm as I pulled them out.

Just like last time I crawled up into my window seat, wrapped myself up with a fluffy blanket and delved into the purple book. My eyes swirled for a second as they got used to the scrawly script. With that I was plunged into a land of fae and dragons.

This time when I opened the book it seemed different. This one felt more like a journal or some kind of hand written history. It even started differently..... I think.....maybe I'm just imagining things....My eyebrows drew together as I stared at the page. Where was my other story? I wanted to know more about Tanwen. I couldn't find the story.

Last time it felt like I was reading a historical fantasy fiction novel. This time it was. Well it was like reading someone's diary. Like it was written TO me not just written and me finding it to read.

Ceud failte! (ked faly-tya) A hundred welcomes to you!

This is the story of beginnings. This is the story of the Daoine Sidhe, and the Dragons. It is a story of magic, of love and hate, joy and despair and mostly of betrayal and redemption. This is the story of Nathair Sgiathach (nayer skey-ak) the first Great Winged Serpent. The first Dragon King!

When the world was young, before the age of men, there was magic. It sprang out of the earth like a stream from a mountain. This fount became a stream which became a river. A river that glowed silver in the night and golden in the day. The magic permeated everything it touched. From this fount Sidhe (Shee) was born. Aelfs (elfs), and Gruagach (gu gy), little hairy creatures liked to build little huts and homes for those around it. Trees became Dryads, and Nymphs were born. Horses became Unicorns or Pegsi, and sometimes they became Fuathas, dark horse-like creatures that lived in mundane rivers and lakes that would drag others down into the depths with it. Eagles morphed into Gryphans. But the greatest of these were the dragons.

The fae gathered in groups near the Bainbourne (ban burn) for that is what the river was called. Many Sidhe gathered in groups and built lives with each other. Families and friends joined together to form communities and towns. The dragons and the Daoine Sidhe (Thee na Shee) built a fortress and they named it Liosliath (Liess-lia) literally the fortress of the people of peace. For eons the dragons ruled with a gentle justice. For no matter the size of the creature, their hearts were always bigger.

The dragons were the first that could change their shape at will, for they found it easier to interact with the smaller creatures if they themselves were not so big. They often took the appearance of the Aelfs. The gryphans were next to learn to shift, and then the wolves. Soon the whole of the Sidhe would shift at will and mingle together. And soon after that the Men appeared.

At first the races got along well. There was peace and everyone prospered. But peace can only last so long before greed, selfishness and hate creep their ways into the heart. The Sidhe split into two, the Seelie and UnSeelie courts. The Seelie court was the court that was willing to peacefully interact with the other races, fae and human alike. The UnSeelie court was darker in nature; it was full of fuathas (fyath-as). Mean spiteful fae that rebelled against the rule of the dragons. They resented the humans and the changes men brought.

The men, well eventually they came to resent the Sidhe as well..

With a great HUFF I looked up. Surprised once again to find my room and the outside world dark. I dug out one of my special book marks and gently placed it in the book. It didn't feel like I'd been reading for so long but it looked like I'd read almost half the book already. Then again it's not like it's a big book so maybe I'm being silly. I stood and stretched my stiff muscles, as I stifled a yawn and shuffled to my bathroom to do my nightly routine.

I looked at the clock as I shuffled to bed and realized it was already 3 am. Urgh! I'm going to be so tired tomorrow.

As soon as my head hit the pillow, and I pulled the fluffy comforter over my shoulders I was dead asleep. I may have been dead asleep but my brain was active as fuck! It was like the story had opened a floodgate of creativity. I dreamed in color, it was like all the descriptions of the different Sidhe came to life behind my eyes.

When I opened my eyes the next morning it actually felt as if I had been Dorothy when she came back from Oz to the real word. Everything felt a little less bright, a little less intense and a little more drab.

I knew it was going to be a long day.