The Realm of the Sun

A Knight's Spirit

          Tara awoke at the first light of dawn to the sound of Cú Chulainn's cutting voice again.

          "Come on, apprentice," he said with the energy of a whole army, "Time to get you a horse."

          Tara had only opened one eye at this point, simply unable to pry the other. The sun had begun to rise, but had not yet reached the forest entirely; beams of skewed light crept in from the edge of the earth but there was still an overall darkness and clouds of morning mist. Exhausted but determined, Tara pushed herself up from the tiny sack of straw on which she slept. She stood up, and stepping over other sleeping soldiers, followed Cú out of the wooden hut. She was glad this hut was practically on the ground, so no early morning high ladder descent was necessary.

          "This way," he hollered to her, as she rubbed her eyes and struggled to follow him through the dewy forest floor. If she was going to be a knight, it was clear that he wasn't going to make it easy. They came to a massive stable, where all the knights kept their horses and the colony kept their cows and chickens. It continually amazed Tara how much they were able to fit within the confines of the fortress' circular wall. A whole world existed in one relatively small circle of the wood. The animals were as quiet as the sleeping community, but became alert as soon as Cú set foot in the barn. Tara followed close behind him and each horse looked her in the eye as if to intentionally intimidate her. One horse snarled at her as though it could sense her fear. They walked through a long row of horses and other animals until they came to the end. Cú turned to his left and presented the horse to her with a showy gesture.

          "Red, meet Eachan," he said, gently patting the head and mane of the grey horse. She nodded nervously and swallowed as though she had just been introduced to the king again. Eachan, a horse built for war, had a wild glint in his dark brown eyes and looked just as skeptical of Tara as the other horses had.

          "Hello," Tara said as she reached her hand out to touch the horse's mane. Eachan jerked his head away and his pronounced nostrils flared. Tara flinched and stepped back.

          "Don't worry, he'll come round," Cú said, grinning from ear to ear. Tara tried her best to mask her fear with an enthusiastic smile, but the horse could see through her guise just as well as Cú.

          "Afraid yet?" he asked, casually, with an amused smile.

          "No," she said emphatically, "Of course not."

          "Then why are your shoulders up to your ears?"

          Cú looked at her inquisitively for a moment, with a tilted head and budding smile. Just as Tara was about to open her mouth to speak, he shook his head and gestured for her to follow him out.

          "Come on, if you're going to be a knight, you'll need to dress like a knight," he said, and then as an afterthought called to her new horse, "We'll be back for you in a moment, Eachan, you'd better prepare yourself for this one!"

          Tara suppressed her fear as they left the stables and Cú marched her into the room beside it. It was a wide, sheltered three-sided room with shelves and rows of riding boots and weapons. A small old man was hard at work in the far corner of the shop wearing a leather apron that seemed to weigh half his own weight. Tinkering away with a hammer and a welded piece of iron, he was startled when he saw two shadows and looked up to find company.

          "If it isn't Cú Chulainn himself," said the man, whose hair was white and face was red.

          "Hello, Henny," Cú replied, matching the old man's cheer and buoyancy.