"And if we do this, you will help my people?" Danu asked the Spirit Guardian. He was floating above the creek bed in solemn silence. One half of his face was blood red, the other was black. He held a vine-carved, wooden staff in his left hand and wore a turtle-shell rattle on his wampum belt. The vines of his staff held the images of forest animals, the most prominent one being the deer; the top of his pole donned the head of a stag.
Mesingw nodded. "Yes," he replied. "If they honor the creatures of the forest, I will help them assimilate to our lands. I can not cure what ails Éire, but I promise to help those who make the forest of these shores their home." The sunlight gleamed off the ripples of the creek, providing a gilded sheen to the edge of his aura. "Do we have an agreement then?"
Danu stood tall and thought over the matter one last time. More than one million of her people were dead, decaying in the bogs, the streets and the dirt of her homeland. In her mind, she saw the wide planks of the treacherous coffin ships, whose bowels smelled of rape, disease and spoiled fish. The images made her tremble as she watched her children board them, many never to be seen or heard from again.
A mighty Oak overshadowed Danu, its trunk letting only the highlights of her hair catch the sun. Seeing no other way, she curtsied. "We do."
Then stepping forward, Mesingw joined Danu on the shore. Holding her hand, he listened as she chanted;
"Sacred land, precious waters,
Burning fire, blowing winds,
Give birth to our angel.
Free us from the clutches of those who thirst to destroy the balance of nature,
Whom seek to destroy the good of humanity.
Breathe life into our daughter,
Who will save us from their viciousness.
Bring her into being, this Aingeal Fola who will deliver us from evil.
So mote it be."
When she finished, Mesingw took his left hand from Danu. He tapped his staff on the ground three times before handing it to her, henceforth he removed the turtle shell rattle from his belt and began a dance. In a flurry of feathers and leather, Mesingw turned and twisted, sweeping a fury of energy into the clearing. A great wind blew the dirt and leaves off the ground. The water from the nearby creek steamed and gurgled. Like great flames, Mesingw's feathers glowed, singeing at their edges.
Danu closed her eyes and repeated the chant again.
On and on they went, until Danu's womb conceeded in concert with the sun. When it was dark, Mesingw stopped. The whirlwind of energy he'd summoned dissipated slowly as its source was cut off, and Mesingw's essence filled his mistress as the stars filled the night's sky.
Mesingw closed his eyes, bowed his head and whispered. "It is done." To which Danu replied one final time, "So mote it be." She too, bowed her head to her host.
After what felt like many moon's time, but in reality was mere minutes, for spirit guardians and goddesses live time differently, Mesingw came to Danu's side as she bent over and groaned in agony.
Backing up in pain, Danu found herself supported by the wood of the tree behind her. She crouched in place, almost kneeling over its roots. Then pulling from her womb, she gave birth to a baby girl. The afterbirth spilled forth, turning the grass at her feet into a blanket of blue and white flowers.
Mesingw came forward and took the child in his gentle arms. "She will be loved, My Lady."
"Thank you, Kind Sir," Danu replied with a tear in her eye. It dripped upon the child's crown as she bent over to kiss her daughter one last time, turning her locks a brilliant shade of sun-kissed, white blond.
As Mesingw turned to leave, he heard a gasp behind him. Cradling their angel in his arms, he turned to see what had alarmed the goddess.
When he found himself eye to eye with Matanto, though, Mesingw began to pray. "Ketanëtuwit, help us."
__________
Additional References Used to Write This Novel:
*Afri. (2017). The Great Starvation - Re-defining The Irish Famine. Web Search 6 July 2020. Website: https://youtu.be/NF-je_JYhPc
*Interlink Books, New York. (1994.) Native American Embassy; Lenni Lenape Archives. Web Search 6 July 2020. Website: http://www.nativeamericanembassy.net/www.lenni-lenape.com/www/html/LenapeArchives/LenapeSet-01/mesingw.html
*Lenni Lenape Phoenix, Native American Embassy, Mandy & NATIVE ENIT, Native American Holocaust Museum, Inc., Minister Jessie Renee (Von Noaker) ThunderWolfe, Priscylla Belle Venticello, Von Noaker Family Publishing Group International, North American Homeless Ombudsman Council. (1991-2012). The Masked Being. (Referencing: The Grandfathers Speak, by Hìtakonanu'laxk
*Redish, L. and Lewis, O. Native Languages of the Americas. (1998-2015). Legendary Native American Figures: Matanto (Matantu). Web Search 6 July 2020. Website: http://www.native-languages.org/matanto.htm
*Redish, L. and Lewis, O. Native Languages of the Americas. (1998-2015). Native American Legends: Kitanitowit (Cautantowwit). Web Search 6 July 2020. Website: http://www.native-languages.org/kitanitowit.htm
*Redish, L. and Lewis, O. Native Languages of the Americas. (1998-2015). Native Languages of the Americas:
Lenape/Delaware Indian Legends and Stories. Web Search 6 July 2020. Website: http://www.native-languages.org/lenape-legends.htm
YOU ARE READING
Dreamcatching
Storie d'amore© 2020 & 2022 Written by A. E. F. All Rights Reserved. When you kill vampires, losing your memory can be fatal, especially when your blood attracks the dead. For a stand-alone short-story prequel, read "Blood Angel," (though it's not necessary for...
