Teaser: The Tale of Fintan and Aodh

A look at the origins

The following story is a translation of a section from a much larger text called The Royal Chronicle of Lunis, which hails from a world entirely separate from ours and details the history of the kingdom of Lunis. An organization known as the Royal Recorders are charged with protecting, transcribing, and updating the Royal Chronicle. Of the tales contained within the Royal Chronicle, this is one of the most influential.

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Let this account of King Fintan[1] and the dragon Aodh begin. As a friend of both, I am the record keeper most qualified to write this tale. With this story I will illuminate why the Bloody Day came to the conclusion that it did.

The first meeting of Fintan and Aodh was during Fintan's pilgrimage[2] through the country. I had been selected by Fintan's retainer Doran as the record keeper to accompany him and record events that took place. For as long as I could remember, I had been taught that I was an instrument for recording events, not a person. Because of that I spent the early days of the pilgrimage as a distant observer. I don’t enjoy recalling how I thought back then.

As we traveled to the town of Tieveroe, we were attacked by a Roc. Doran led the guards in fending it off. Fintan stood at a safe distance, transfixed by the fight. My instinct had been to shield my eyes with the Chronicle, but I immediately recalled which was considered more important and clutched the Chronicle protectively. I was surprised when Fintan's eyes widened at some unexpected sight. "Look out, the Red Flier's coming our way," Fintan shouted to Doran and the guards.

The Red Flier was a mysterious entity we had heard stories of during the pilgrimage. It was a large, scaled beast with four legs, a long tail, and two wings that let it soar freely. Those stories had been dismissed as a mere rumor and beneath recording, but there it was, flying towards us.

The Red Flier swiped the roc with one of its talons. Until that moment Rocs had been the largest of the flying beasts, but the Red Flier was even greater. The roc retaliated by pecking and clawing at the Red Flier's chest. The Red Flier drew back and made another swipe with its talons. It was such a strange sight I forgot all about my purpose. I paid attention only to the battle of beasts. I was not the only one: Fintan, Doran, the guards, we were all watching.

"If the Red Flier turns his attention to us, we're going to run," Fintan whispered to me. He took hold of my hand and gestured for Doran, who fell back to get closer to Fintan without taking his eyes off either beast. I was shocked I had been informed of the plan. My life was worth less than his. I was confused why Fintan had somehow wasted even a single thought on me. I tried to decipher what I had done wrong as the battle between the roc and Red Flier continued.

Then the roc's wings lit on fire with no discernable cause. It let out a piercing screech and dived to the ground, rolling on its back to cover its wings in mud and extinguish the fire. The Red Flier landed and put one talon on the roc's stomach to keep it down. Some of the guards hesitantly approached the two beasts, prompting the Red Flier to notice them and speak. "What's with the spears? I just saved you." I remembered my purpose and looked to Fintan, he touched his ears as though he doubted them.

"What are you? Were those flames somehow your doing?" Fintan asked. He spoke loudly so that his voice would carry over the distance between him and the Red Flier. For any of the mortal races it would be considered an excessively safe distance, I didn’t believe we were safe from the Red Flier.

"I'm a dragon, my name is Aodh. I control fire and make it do what I want it to. Now I have to finish this jerk off before he attacks someone else." None of us had ever heard of a dragon before. Fintan furrowed his brow in silence, looked at the roc, then reached into his bag for something. The roc was shrieking as loudly as it could. My ears hurt from the noise, covering my ears would have impacted my ability to record, so I fought against myself to refrain from it.

"Wait. Rocs don't bother with fights they know they can't win. They usually stay away from us, and this one will definitely keep away from your territory from now on. He must have been desperate to attack us. Why don't you let him go so we can talk without all that screeching? Unless you need to eat," Fintan said.

"I don't think a roc would taste good anyway. Let me change to a better form for talking with you," Aodh said.

In the blink of an eye Aodh's shape shifted to that of a human. However, with only a glance anyone would be able to tell that he wasn't truly human. A set of wings were on his back, and a scaly tail trailed behind him, like that of a lizal. The smooth scaled wings reached out on both sides and looked to be as long as his arms with thrice the width. He was wearing a pair of ragged loose pants and his feet were bare. He had no shirt on account of his wings. His messy hair was long like a noble's and red like fire, his eyes were of the same color. All of that combined with his height made for an imposing figure. He walked past the guards and towards Fintan. Doran's hands went to his blade and he placed himself between Fintan and Aodh.

I was so surprised by the transformation that I barely noticed the roc flying off. Fintan had tossed the roc some food to keep it from causing more trouble. Despite Aodh helping us, I was more scared of him than the roc. Whatever he was, he was something new and unknown. My training had said nothing about how to handle such a situation. I was ashamed of how I had already failed my mentors. I did my best to return my focus to Fintan and mask my emotions.

"Thank you for your assistance earlier. I am Prince Fintan of Lunis, and these are my traveling companions for my pilgrimage. That roc looked like it harmed you in your other form, do you need any medical attention?" Fintan asked. He gestured for Doran to put away his blade. Doran reluctantly obliged and sheathed his sword.

"I'm fine, it only hurts a bit. Since I’m immortal it won’t kill me," Aodh said. Fintan looked to Doran for reassurance he heard right. Doran gave him the affirmation he needed by nodding.

"I've never heard of dragons before. Can all dragons change their shape the way you did?" Fintan asked.

"I'm not sure if there even are other dragons, I haven't seen any. I mean I've only been around for a month and I haven't traveled much. The other dragons could just be somewhere else I guess." Aodh put a finger on his chin in contemplation.

"What do you mean 'only been around for a month?' It sounds like you're saying you were born last month." Fintan said.

"I really was born last month. A star fell from the heavens and then there I was. Don’t remember anything before that so it must have been my birth. Even had to grab these clothes I found by a river for my human form. I tried to put on a shirt too, but that didn’t go too well." Aodh gestured to his wings and lightly flapped them. The rest of us were more fixated on his statement about his birth. It was true that a falling star had been seen last month, on a night of the white moon.[3] I doubt any of us missed the implications of that divine sign being Aodh.

“Perhaps you have amnesia and lost your memories, you don’t look like you were born last month at least. You sound closer to the divine than any creature I know, and to fall from the heavens on a night like that, I wouldn’t be surprised if you were a child of the Grey Lady and Radiant Lord themselves[4],” Fintan speculated. I remember that he seemed excited as he thought through what Aodh had said.

“I doubt a god would need to steal clothes,” Doran said. It had always been clear that he was a cautious person, but he was especially on edge with Aodh. I’m confident he was in a fighting stance for the entire conversation.

“Well I don’t think I’m a god, so you probably shouldn’t call me one. I mean imagine if everyone called me a god and it turned out I wasn’t, we’d all feel pretty stupid then. Though when you talked about the Grey Lady and the Radiant Lord, I got a weird sort of feeling. Kind of like…” Aodh paused before continuing, his tail coiling and uncoiling itself. “Sorry I really don’t know how to describe it. Anyway, I don’t think I have amnesia, but it’s not like I’d remember if I did. All I know is that I know things and I don’t know how.”

“It’s no problem, many things are difficult to convey. In fact, I must apologize for being as tactless as to treat your past like some puzzle for me to solve, speaking thoughts as they come to mind.” Fintan gave a humble bow.

“Oh, it’s not that big of a deal. I mean you might be right. I can’t say for sure that I don’t have amnesia,” Aodh said. He seemed a little flustered. I remember Doran looked rather exasperated around this part.

“Still, I spoke rather carelessly.” Fintan’s embarrassment seemed equal to Aodh’s. “Moving on, since you saved us, I must repay you in some way. I have a spare set of shoes if you want something to cover your feet," Fintan said. Aodh looked down at his bare feet.

”I was going to ask if you had any shiny gold for my collection, but some shoes would be nice. Could probably do with more clothes in general.”

“How do you have a collection of gold and no clothes of your own?” Doran asked.

“You don’t have to sound so mad about it. I found this nice big space in the Hollow Mountains that had a lot of gold in it, with a carving saying it belonged to whoever found it.”

“You found Órlaith’s treasure?![5]” One of the guards shouted in shock. He immediately covered his mouth and looked away. Although he was the only one who spoke it, the rest of us had made the same connection.

“Yeah, that was the name signed on the carving. I could show it to you, but I think it’d be hard to get there if you can’t fly. Way too many of you to carry too, and I’d be worried about dropping you on the way.”

“If the pilgrimage takes us by there, I’d love to see it for myself. But we’re getting distracted.” Fintan reached into his bag and pulled out his spare pair of moccasins.

"My lord, we still have much of the pilgrimage left before us," Doran said. "You should give him some other present before he gets on his way. Not something you may need later."

"I have the privilege of easily acquiring more shoes, Aodh currently doesn't have any so he needs these more than me. Though you do have a good point. Aodh, if you’re willing to wait I could give you gold from the treasury.”

“Nah I could do with some shoes. Gold is pretty to look at, but I don’t think it’s too good for anything else.” Aodh accepted the moccasins and began to put them on. “Hey, how about I travel with you guys?”

“It’d be an honor to have you with us.” Fintan silenced Doran’s protest with a glance before it was vocalized.

We resumed our journey to Tieveroe. Doran stayed close to Fintan as usual. Eventually Aodh fell back in the group to walk alongside me, which made me nervous. Despite his laid back way of speaking, his power and possibly divine nature made talking to him an anxiety inducing prospect.

I tried not to look too much at his tail or wings even if I was curious. On the back of his shoulders I could see flesh that turned to red scales, the wings extended out from those scaled spots. He was so unlike anything I knew that he made me want to ask questions, a want that record keepers were forbidden from having.

“Hey, what’s your name?” Aodh asked.

“Ciara,” I answered. One hand was on the chronicle, the other on the brim of my hat.

"Do you know that guy who doesn't want me here?”

"That's Doran, a samurai who serves Fintan as his retainer. They've been raised together since a young age, and it is his purpose to protect Fintan," I answered. In those days there were times I would forget the sound of my own voice on account of how rarely it saw use, so that was already the most I had spoken in some time.

"I like Fintan so he should stop worrying about me. How about you? Why are you traveling with Fintan?"

"I was selected for the task. My role is to record what happens," I said.

"So that's what that big tome is for. How are you liking the pilgrimage so far?" Aodh asked.

"My preferences are irrelevant. A record keeper like myself is a tool."

"That's dumb. You're clearly a person. You looked scared of me before. If you can be afraid you can like and dislike things."

I had no response to Aodh. It was my first time encountering someone who challenged my beliefs. Debate was yet another thing I had been instructed not to partake in, so I kept my silence. Aodh’s word choice was unsophisticated, but it awakened distant memories of my much younger self being silenced by the senior record keepers. Aodh made a frustrated sound at my continued silence and picked up his pace to catch up with Fintan.

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[1] In the original language Fintan's name means 'white fire.' However, the word used for white has a lunar conation, and only the royal family of Lunis is allowed to use it as a component of personal names. A different word is used for white in non-moon related contexts.

[2] Members of the Lunan Royal must undertake a pilgrimage to become eligible for the throne, where they travel the kingdom in order to pray at shrines in various settlements.

[3] What we know as the full moon is known to the Lunans as the white moon. Nights of the white moon are sacred, marking the end of each month. A White Moon Festival is held for each white moon. It is also said to be a time where all manner of spirits roam the world freely.

[4] The Grey Lady and Radiant Lord are the two main deities or ‘great spirits’ of Lunan religion. The Grey Lady is the moon while the Radiant Lord is the sun, they are married.

[5] According to legend Órlaith was a Lunan noblewomen who possessed many golden treasures. Her brother sought to claim these treasures for himself and murdered her two sons. However, Órlaith was informed of her brother’s evil by the stars. In grief she took her treasure with her into the Hollow Mountains, living out the rest of her days in a secluded cave. Her brother attempted to find the treasure but was devoured by wild animals. Many attempts were made to locate this legendary treasure, and it began to be said that the cave could only be found by the one chosen to inherit Órlaith’s treasure.

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I hope you enjoyed this peak at the still in progress short story/novelette. Feedback is deeply appreciated. Battles Beneath the Stars will resume with the new every other Thursday posting schedule on March 30th.