1014: Twenty seven years later, Runof remained ruler of his youthful kingdom, looking as if he had not aged a day since arriving. His mind played on the warnings he had received by the locals upon ascending the throne, how he would die if he returned to Ireland after becoming king of the land of the young. He wondered about whether his reign and time on the island a blessing or a curse had been, what he had left behind in Ireland, and what had been the fate of his son Weslyn. He used the beauty and crafts of the land as a diversion to take his thoughts away from feeling homesick. Eventually, king Runof became bored with the land of the young.
None of his usual activities in his life no longer held his attention in a monotonous lifestyle that had occupied Runof for the better part of three decades. Sailing around the island only reminded him of his first voyage out at sea, carving lumps of wood only reminded him of how he had created Weslyn, and his powerful spirit amulet reminded him only of his father Grom. Rather than changing his life for the better and avoiding mistakes that he would have easily made back home, Runof had made entirely new ones by staying in the land of the young. Being finally satisfied with everything the magical land had to offer, Runof made the fateful decision to return to Ireland, despite the locals' criticism of such a choice as foolish.
The king left the locals to elect a new ruler in his absence and bid farewell to his subjects before heading over the horizon back to his homeland. As he came within sight of the steep white cliffs of Ireland, Runof's boat gave in and collapsed in on itself, forcing the potion brewer to swim the rest of the way to the shore in his old age using planks of wood as board and paddles. As the sun shone above him, Runof set foot on Irish soil for the first time in what felt like forever, only to stare down in horror as his first step turned his leg to dust along with the rest of his body. The heap that was once Runof was either wafted off into the sky by gusts of wind or dragged back into the depths by the tide, having aged as if he had been gone for hundreds of years.
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The potion brewers
Short StoryExplore the lives of the five potion makers, a group of magical druids who persist as a light in the dark ages to deliver a magic potion to the people of Ireland.
