Part V: Ragmornaroch and Choranromgar

 

 

A blizzard

Started to blow.

The air

Turned bitterly cold.

 

"There's... a. cave,"

Said my man

So I helped him to rise

From the pool of his blood

Red ice pool.

Red on the ground.

 

He leaned on me.

He dragged his leg.

He dragged his sword.

 

I took the weapon in my hand

And I took his weight on my shoulder.

 

 

We limped to the cave

Behind the weeping tree.

"I thought... to rest here.

Then that dragon came at me."

 

That dragon that was now with our daughter.

Did I have the worry of a mother? Aye.

And yet

I realized too

That my wee Blessa

My tiny toddler

Was bigger than me this day.

She had powers, aye.

 

More than before.

And I knew she'd be my tiny tot no more.

The power was out now

Out in the light.

 

It would not hide again.

She controlled magic coins.

She healed... dragons?

And now I healed too.

 

I'd healed my Ragmornaroch.

I looked at my hands

My hands that still pulsed

With the chi.

 

Would the power stay too, with me?

Or was it linked only to Blessa?

Only time would tell.

My husband shivered.

 

"Take my cloak."

I covered him

Weak as he was.

Leaned him against the wall.

 

 

It was chilly in here

He'd need warmth to heal

I took off my pack

Fetched out my fire-things

 

Turned to leave the cave for sticks

And stopped.

Blessa, wee Blessa

Was coaxing the dragon in.

 

Without thought –

Without intention –

I was drawn back to Ragmornaroch

Stood beside him.

Stronger, we were, as two.

 

But did we need protection from our own daughter?

Surely not.

My mothering hands reached out

Then fell back.

She did not need me just now.

 

She toddled towards us, coaxing the dragon.

Led him, unresisting, to the other wall of the cave.

"Choranromgar, stay," said she.

 

I marvelled again 

At the long name on her lips

My tiny wee daughter

Who barely spoke yesterday

Today had such power in her voice.

 

Ragmornaroch and I stared

At the pulsing light in the dragon

His life force, plain to see.

Life force my daughter had given him.

 

The cave was warmer already.

No need for the fire.

Yet still, 'twas obvious he was injured.

 

The light pulsed 

But clear to see

It was Blessa's light.

 

'Twas not yet the full life force of the dragon.

Yet it warmed us.

The dragon was injured

Yet that dragon warmed us.

 

Ragmornaroch's hand squeezed mine.

I squeezed back 

But did not tear 

My eyes 

Away from the dragon

Beside my daughter.

 

Panting, Ragmornaroch

Leaned on me.

He leaned on the wall.

The adrenaline of combat

Flowed still through his veins.

Panting, the dragon rested, too.

His breath came large, and deep

With effort.

 

My girl made a small sound and I looked to her.

Blessa stared into my eyes

Then she looked to the sword

And again to me.

 

She made me to understand

That I should pick it up

And go to her.

She paced before me, led me.

And I with the sword

I drew a line in the sand

On the floor of the cave

To split the space in two.

 

When I had finished,

I looked back.

The line glowed and shimmered

A veil in the air.

 

I carried the sword back 

To the side of my husband.

Blessa followed.

As I laid down the sword

She took my hand and pulled me

To the side of the dragon.

 

She stood me in front of his nose

And carried my hand to his face.

His? Or hers?

I knew not.

 

But the face was warm

And soft, and alive.

And I loved this dragon too.

I couldn't not.

 

I looked to the dragon's side

To the battering and the blood.

And I looked to my husband,

Too, nearly dead. 

 

His beautiful, bright smart eyes

Were dim. He wanted to sleep, I knew.

The dragon, too.

They panted, and they bled.

They might die yet, ‘less Blessa and me

Could make them live.

Part IV: Blessa & the Dragon

His footprints were deep
The gold must be heavy.
I followed my daughter
And the arrow
To my man

For an hour she walked
On her sturdy wee legs
Then, so tired
She turned to be lifted
And rode on my shoulders

Another long hour
I know that she napped, but
The arrow kept leading.
So follow I did.

All of  a sudden
The arrow shot up
Shot straight up in the air
My feet stopped moving
My eyes did stare.

The trees were aflame.
Not all, but some.
The snow was melted
In swathes of scorch.

Blessa woke up.
Her eyes saw the trees
She looked straight up
Up to the arrow.

She spoke
And her voice was strong.
"Wa, come." 
The arrow dropped 
Into her hands
She tore the sapphire free.

Then raised her right hand
Palm face front
She threw 
a stream of water

The sapphire sailed
The water arced.
Words came from
My daughter's mouth
Words I'd ne'er
Heard a'fore.

And the sapphire obeyed her.

The water flowed
From that small coin
In amounts you would not credit.

The fires went out
One then another
As my Blessa steered the coin.
Over one tree
Then over another.

She steered me, too. 
Even wi'out knowing
My feet moved to her bidding, 
Following along as she 
Put out the fires.

The arrow, now
A triangle
Hovered
Beside us.

And then I saw him
Ragmornaroch
His body was bent, 
Though his right arm 
Bravely
Held his sword

Blood poured from him
On the left
Or seemed to pour
So much blood on the snow!

And then I saw 
The creature he fought
A dragon.

Huge. Grey-silver, and
Like my husband
Bloody.
Also weary.

In its eyes it seemed I saw humanity.
Sadness. Fear.
As my eyes met the dragon's, 
It crumpled
To its knees.

"Choranromgar!"
'Twas the longest word 
Blessa'd ever said.
She squirmed
To be set down.

As her feet touched the snow, 
She turned to me.
Reached to the hovering triangle
Took out the emerald.

She pushed it into my hand.
"Ma. Fix Da."

I kenned at once.
The power still pulsed in me
From the fire.
The green of the emerald
Would give power to heal.

In my need to save my husband
I turned away from my daughter.

I moved toward Ragmornaroch
Already focussing the light on his wound
The wound I could see
How many more?

I reached him
My love
Reached to him
Put my hands on his side
Staunching the river of blood
Even as I kissed him

He kissed me back
I was reassured
There was strength in him yet
My love.

A sound distracted
We turned to look

We watched together
As the fearsome beast
Fell to its side
Closed its eyes
We watched its life force fade

I relaxed
Turned to my husband
Focussed.
Poured my energy in him.
Healing.
Hoped I was doing it right.
Hoped I was not missing other, serious wounds.

I heard him groan
My eyes darted to his face
His gaze was urgent,
Toward the dragon.

I looked.

Blessa was with it
She had toddled over
While I tended her dad.
She leaned on its side
Near its heart.

She took the ruby
Burning brighter than ever
And push it
Against the dragon's skin
The ruby went through, went in

Its life force flowed back.
We watched, aghast.
"Blessa, no!" I gasped.

"Choranromgar!" she shouted.
And again. "Choranromgar!"

But his life force faded again.

Her strong tiny body 
Pushed on his heart.
Her tiny strong body
Moved to his head.

"Choranromgar!"
She commanded again
But the dragon could not
Lift his head.

She returned to his heart
With the diamond now
In her hand,
It flared like a sun
melting the snow around.

She looked at it
Held it high
Roared Choranromgar! again
Then she thrust the diamond in.

Ragmornaroch and I felt the heat
It came over us in blasts
Was that our daughter?
She glowed.

And then the dragon glowed as well. 
From within, a bright light
A ball, a sun
It opened its eyes.

Choranromgar! shouted Blessa again.

Part III: Fire & ale

Blessa lifted her chubby hand
And the arrow, obedient, hovered,
leading with its ruby point.
"Da." commanded she.
So the arrow moved
out of the room
towards the door.

Blessa toddled after
On her, chubby, sturdy, legs.
Wobbly-not-wobbly 
A baby, yet...
Surely older than me.

"Blessa, wait," I called, though 
She couldna open the door 
wi'out me. (I thought!
We hadna met hovering arrows a'fore, tho.)

My exhaustion hung heavy on my shoulders
But out again we'd go
Ragmoarnaroch needed us
Twas impossible to say no.

Blessa stood by the door 
Playing with her pretty red arrow.
I tossed some food in our sack
And prepared myself to follow.

Need I put her up again
High upon my shoulders?
It seemed not so
She was ready to go
She had her arrow to follow.

I looked at the door
The arrow
The girl
And turned my own pretty head

To look at the shelf
The fire (still warm)
The mug
That he'd left on the table.

With the print of his lips
On the rim 
of that mug
on the table.

Blessa played on
With a sweep of her hands
She was learning the arrow
And how it moved.

Twas like she was gentling a horse.
I turned my shoulders
I set the sack down
I took up the pitcher of ale.

I poured it
As he had
Not long before.
Foaming ale into the mug.

I set down my bones, 
weary me
Upon the bench
Was he as tired as I am?
I put my lips
Where his had been
Not a kiss, but still, some magic.
I closed my eyes 
I felt him there. 

The ale was fine
The batch one of my best
Glad I was he'd had some.
I felt the good of the herbs
and the hops and the malt
Surge into my blood.
I breathed deep 
and deep again.

"Your chi, Beth," I heard him say
deep in my mind,
"It's yours to use if you'll find it."

I drank another long draught from the mug
Drank another long draught from the air.

A smile curved my lips 
I remembered the day 
that he'd taught me, or tried,
To meditate his way.
"The chi, you can find it."
Och, he'd been so sure.

"Stare into the fire
Find the twin flame
That burns in the hearth inside you."

I'd tried with him
To find that chi-hearth
But no luck I'd had
No feelings I'd felt
But the thud of my heart
As usual.

He'd shown me, though
He'd shown me his own
His own aura glowing
The fire afore us, growing...

"Zzzt, Mama!" cried Blessa
And my eyes snapped open
To see my wee daughter
In the glow of the fire

A big fire. 
Where before the hearth had burned lowly.
How? But...

"Mama zzzt!" Blessa cried again.
Her arms swung akimbo
She sketched an egg shape 
In the air around me.
Around me.

Around me?
I'd done it!
The room was lighter
And the light was from me.
And the fire was brighter
And that was my chi.

Joy surged inside me
And energy too
I had the power
For what we must do. 

"Zzzt, Blessa!" I sang, and rose to hug her.
Oh, this blessed chi.
She laughed and laughed
And hugged me back
And I felt our energy surge more.

I knew we had to hurry.
I drank the mug down
Drank half again
And filled my extra aleskin.

More weight to carry.
But now, it didna fash me.
How far would we go?
The way to know
Was to open the door
And take that first step

Twas Blessa who did
Take the first step
Her chubby sweet legs 
Seemed more strong by the minute
Like me, she knew
Her Da was ahead
And she'd shown me
That he was in trouble.

As I pulled shut the door
And pulled close my cloak
She toddled ahead
Sure after that arrow

Though the snow blew
His footsteps were clear.
Through the path down the valley.

I and my pack and a stout walking staff
Followed near after
My newly quick daughter.

Followed after my daughter.

Part II: Beth

I opened the door
And the warmth rushed out
The house hadna been alone
While I'd been about.

 A smile spread my lips: Ragmoarnaroch!
I breathed in his scent
As I swung wide the door
But no! Alas. He was here no more.

 I sighed. The babe cried.
Always she knew my thoughts.
But I stood a moment longer,
And breathed.

 I breathed in his warmth
and his strength
and his love
They were there, for me.
Left in the air, for me.
From him.
My love.

 Why hadn't he waited?
I swung the babe down
Unlaced her carry
Long hours she'd ridden, with no complaint.

 My heart was heavy, heavy.
Leaden that I'd missed him
My Ragmoarnaroch.
The babe, with her wild, strange eyes

Stared at the air.
She saw the molecules left of him
The way that I smelled him.
Felt him.

 When I'd untied the very last lace
and set her on her sturdy wee legs
She stared no more
But headed for the door
Of the bedroom

She waited, patient
for me to open it
Of course, I did.

Straight to the bed she toddled.
So sure-footed,
Though short and wobbly.

 Beside the bed
She put her hands on it
Then turned her sweet head,
With her strange, clear eyes
She turned her sweet face
To look up at me.

 What did she want of me?
'Twas then that I noticed the glow
It shone bright from under the pillow.

 I lifted Blessa
To the bed
Her hand went in
Came back with red!
A ruby, 'twas, in a golden coin.

 She chortled. I gasped.
The ruby didna just gleam -- it glowed.
Lit from within by some magic light.

 My own hand went in,
And I drew out blue.
Sapphire, encased the same
In a golden coin.
Rings in gold round the stone
Rippled
Like water.

 The ripples swam in my vision
and I blinked in surprise.
No water I saw, yet...
Water I felt!

 I tossed the coin
from hand to hand
My eyes saw metal and stone
My hands felt... water.
I poured it back and forth,
Delighted.
Baffled.

 Blessa watched.
Unlike me,
She did see the water.
Cert, she did.

She held her ruby coin high.
A beacon
Her eyes on the water.
"Ainbow, Mama."

I squeezed my eyes to a slit
I tried to see.
I saw the glow of the stone
but I could not see the water
Nor the rainbow.

 But I had learned not to doubt my daughter
By now.
So a rainbow there was.
She saw much that I did not.

 Blessa moved her other hand
From up to down: a command.
"Close eyes, Mama."

 When I let my lids fall,
making the blank canvas,
Blessa sent me the picture
the light on the water
the rainbow
as I poured back and forth.

 I smiled for my Blessa.
What she'd shown me was beautiful.
And yet, my heart ached.
Where was Ragmoarnaroch?
He should be here, to share this joy.

I opened my eyes
And smiled again for Blessa
She smiled back to me,
Then set the ruby down
On the aged quilt.

 The pillow, it still glowed.
Her hand went in again
And drew out a stone of green.

 An emerald, encased in a prickly coin
A huge, triangular stone
Surrounded by triangles and pyramids
The points poking up from the surface

She pressed the points
between her chubby palms
She laughed.
"Zzzt! Mama! Zzzzt!"

Indeed, zzzt.
Wee sparks shot from her palms
as she pressed.
Wee
green
sparks..

I set the sapphire down
On the quilt by the side of the ruby
And lifted the pillow.
How many more?

 There were two.
One white -- a diamond, square and bright.
Encased in a square bronze coin.
One black -- a smooth, round stone.
Its coin was silver and smooth.

 Blessa picked up the diamond.
Frowned.
"No zzzt, Mama."

 I picked up the black stone. Frowned, too.
No zzzt on this one, either.
No water, no fire.
Nothing.

We put them down by the others.
The two by the side of the three.

Black, white
Green, blue, red.
Five stones in coins.
Pretty stones in coins.

All that my Ragmoarnaroch had left
when he went.

 A pile of stones?
No, a circle...
Had they moved?
My eyes thought the ruby's light
Traced their perimeter.

 But before my mind believed,
They moved again once more.
Now, I knew I saw.
They formed an arrow.

The red glow was strong.
The arrow was sure.
It was a command. 

"Da."

Blessa's voice was strong.
"Mama. Da!"
Blessa always knew.
And when she knew, I knew too.

I closed my eyes.
She showed me.
She saw her da.
He had drawn his sword.
Not good.

He needed her.
He needed me, too.
Maybe.

The arrow
It throbbed with insistent red fire.
Tired as I was,
I knew.
Follow we must.

Thank you to Jorinde Brokke for the wonderful photo from her home in the south of France

Poem: Part I: There is Light on the Horizon

Part I

There is light on the horizon

There is beauty all around

But here I stand and shiver

And I quake at every sound

Of ice crackling on the branches

and snow falling to the ground

Was it really worth the danger,

this treasure that I found?

'Round the curve of the mountain

I know that I must go

Through the misty darkness

Tramping in the snow.

The pain in my toes is one thing

But the clench of my heart is fear

The cold on my skin does sting, it does

But I wonder, is the dragon near?

In the valley before me lives a dragon

Of fire and foul breath

Will the crunch of my steps in the snow

Ruin my careful stealth?

Carefully, I place my feet

To descend the slippery slope

This bag of gold is heavy

I'll not fall, I hope

A stone tumbles down before me

And thuds into the snow

I freeze, and squint ahead

Which way should I go?

Did the dragon hear me?

Or will I make it through?

There's nothing to do but step again

So step again I do.

I make it down to the valley

And pause to catch my breath

I've a promise that I must keep

So I stroll to the home of Beth

She's not a' home when I arrive

So I enter in alone

The coins I count from one to five

And place them 'neath her pillow.

She'll know it 'twas me, and know I'm a'right

These strange coins will tell my tale

She'll know I survived, and hiked on past

And drank a mug of her ale.

I stoke up the hearth, and warm my flesh

Until the sting abates

I shoulder my sack once again

Step back upon my trail.

My breath puffs out in the frosty air

misting my way ahead

I walk quieter than I ever have

I've no wish to be dead.

I come to the pond, and see the burned trees

Where travellers failed before.

The dragon is real, then, and here is the proof

It's more than merely lore.

I breathe in deep, but breathe out slow

It's more important than ever, now

Stealth, if I want to live.

Step, breathe. Step, crunch. Pause.

The hill snow was soft,

but the valley's had sun.

The top crackles loud

As my feet beat it down.

Slow going, 'tis,

when you try not to breathe

Your ears listening hard

Every step slow

But never a dragon I heard.

Nor did I hear a bird.

Not a good sign, that.

After an hour, or maybe two

I come to the curve of the hill.

I sigh with relief, and realize

My shoulders ache like hell.

I see a cave there,

A cave that looks warm

Just for a minute

to set down my load

I decide I want to stop.

I need to stop.

It's then that I hear it

The rush-roar of breath

And I know I'm at my end.

I stumble backwards, to find a tree

And I stuff the gold bag in.

I draw my sword

And stumble ahead

The bag must not be found.

But for me, oh I fear

The Reaper's at last come around.

Thank you to Jorinde Brokke for the photo.
Copyright 2016 by Christa Bedwin