The Realm of the Sun

The Village in the Sky

On the third hour of their onerous journey, Cú Chulainn and his army finally saw their destination.

"It's due east," Cú called to his mates, all on horseback and armed with satchels and swords. Tara clung to Morag, her riding partner, so she could peer over his shoulder to see the large, red wood in the distance. Cú Chulainn had said to her as they set out on the expedition, that he would need to ride alone this morning in order to focus and guide the army the best he could. "We'll fix you up with a horse once we reach our headquarters," he had said, as he scouted the men for a proper riding partner. His eyes had fixed on Morag, the thin one with the long hair and black eyes, who despite his dark features, seemed more sullen than intimidating. Cú had smiled as he paired them up, offering with delight that they could share ideas on how to braid and knot their hair to most effectively keep it under control.

Now as they approached their next base, Cú Chulainn rode with impeccable posture, his shoulders held back. His back seemed bulging and knotted and Tara noticed he kept wiping his brow with his sleeve.

"Why does Cú seem so nervous?" Tara asked Morag, who spoke not a word the whole ride, except to introduce himself and ask her name out of obligation.

"Probably because we're meeting our leader here," he replied, his voice cavernous and inflection unvarying.

"Cú Chulainn's leader as well? Of the army?" she asked, slightly confused.

"Well, he's your leader too. And he has been before you were in this army," said Morag, with a small laugh.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"The King. We're going to join with King Connor," he said, at the end of his patience with her naiveté. Her innocence could simply be sensed and Morag had felt it as plain as he felt the weather, even on their virtually silent ride.

"Connor mac Nessa?" she asked, with earnest, her eyes growing round.

"Of course..." he actually turned his head to look back at her face to make sure her surprise was truthful and not some practical joke. When he saw her eager expression, he turned back around to face front, "Better lose that expression. The king sees your mouth open like that, he'll pluck you out of his army faster than you can blink."

Tara pulled her jaw closed and swallowed.

As they approached the forest, Lir rode up beside Tara on his horse. She was glad to see a familiar face and knew Lir was gregarious enough to explain what was going on, rather than expect her to know everything like Morag.

"How's your ride been, Red?" asked Lir, with a chipper grin, glancing at Morag's blank expression.

"Quiet," she replied, with a subtle look of disappointment to her riding partner.

"Oh, would you have preferred it if I sang to you?" Morag asked, turning his head around to face her. His words were so quick and dry that Tara and Lir could not contain their laughing. Morag's lips tried to persuade him to allow a smile, but he fought hard against it.

"I'll bet you have a lovely singing voice, Morag," Lir teased, trying to elbow his friend without startling the horses, "They'll be plenty of opportunities for you to sing once we get to headquarters." Morag bit his lip, fighting the smile with more valiance than he could ever employ on the battlefield.

"Headquarters?" the word sparked Tara's interest and she could not contain her desperate curiosity.

"That's where we're headed now," Lir explained.